Sixteen-year-old Montrell Emery of Urbana, Illinois, was shot in the back of the head and killed on Wednesday, March 15, 2023, in the 2400 block of Prairie Green Drive. Court documents say the shooting is believed to have been premeditated and involved a setup by three other minors to obtain a gun from Emery. A 14-year-old Urbana teenager was charged with first-degree murder and made a first court appearance on March 20, 2023; an arrest warrant led police to a property where a gun believed connected to the killing was recovered.

Montrell was remembered by his mentor, Pastor Angel Johnson, as a team player on and off the basketball court and had been scheduled to speak at a teen summit against gun violence. He was also expecting a child with his girlfriend. The Urbana Police Department thanked the community for help locating the suspect and asked for additional assistance to develop more details. The juvenile suspect faced up to six years in juvenile detention or up to 60 years if transferred to adult court; a next court date was set for March 28, 2023.

If anyone has information about what happened that night or knew Montrell, please share what you can with investigators.