An 18-year-old Central High School senior, Lorenzo Harrison III, was shot and killed in the early morning hours of Sunday, April 21, 2024, during a prom afterparty in West Helena, Arkansas. The gathering was across the street from Ater Warehouse at 3235 Highway 49. The Phillips County Sheriff’s Office received a call for assistance at about 1 a.m.; Lorenzo’s body was sent to the Arkansas State Crime Lab for autopsy.

The Arkansas State Police Criminal Investigation Division took over the inquiry. Investigators identified 19-year-old Donterious Stephens of Helena, a former graduate of the same high school, as a suspect. After an initial search, Stephens turned himself in the afternoon of April 21 and was charged with first-degree murder and possession of firearms by certain persons; he is being held by the Phillips County Sheriff’s Office. The Helena-West Helena School District called the shooting a senseless act of violence and made crisis teams available.

Did anyone attending the afterparty or living near Highway 49 see or hear anything that could help clarify what happened that night?