Just before dawn on July 13, 2025, officers answered gunfire calls near Martin Luther King Jr. Park in Rocky Mount and found two young men gravely wounded on the 800 block of Virginia Street. Ryo DeCari Steele, 19, of Rocky Mount, and his friend La’Ren Dickens, 20, were both pronounced dead at the scene; police later classified the Virginia Street incident as a double homicide. It was shortly before 3 a.m. when the victims were found, and multiple reports of gunfire across the city came in within minutes of each other.

By late July, authorities had charged several people in connection with the killings. Devonte Dales, 22, was charged with first-degree murder in Steele’s death. Bernard Smith, 27, and Trevion Jayvon Scarboro, 20, were charged in Dickens’s death. A fourth person, Keyvonte Keyshaw Tyson, 19, was also arrested and charged with first-degree murder and held without bond. Police have released few details about motive; memorial arrangements for Steele were announced by the family’s chosen funeral home. Did anyone in Rocky Mount see activity near Martin Luther King Jr. Park that night or have information about what led to the shootings?