On July 4, 2024, at about 1:00 p.m., officers from the Williamston Police Department responded to a reported shooting at a residence on Peaks Street in Williamston, North Carolina. They found 15-year-old Ishmel Yusef Mello Hargett with a gunshot wound; he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Following the investigation, authorities arrested six male teenagers, ages 14 to 17. Each was charged with murder and placed in the Pitt Regional Juvenile Detention Center; their identities have not been publicly released because of their ages. The motive for the shooting remains unclear and the case is under active investigation.

Hargett was remembered by family and the community for comedy, dance, music and basketball, and a memorial service was held on July 16, 2024, at Back Swamp Church of Christ Disciples of Christ in Williamston. Does anyone in the Williamston area have information that could help explain what happened that afternoon?