On the evening of February 17, 2022, 16-year-old Marquez Snug Brown, a Black student at Natchez Freshman Academy, was shot and killed near the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. and Jackson streets in Natchez, Mississippi. Police found his body at the scene after responding to a shots-fired call around 7 p.m. His principal remembered him as a happy teen who liked to help others and loved to laugh, and the community and his family were left grieving — his older brother had also been a victim of street violence.

Authorities arrested 18-year-old Jordan Caston and charged him with murder and shooting inside city limits; the police chief called the killing cold-blooded. Investigators were looking into whether the killing was connected to the recent lengthy prison sentence of a man named Montreal Brown for an unrelated second-degree murder and aggravated assault case, but no confirmed motive was released. While awaiting legal proceedings, Caston was later accused in April 2022 of starting a fire inside the Adams County Jail and was charged with fourth-degree arson.

If anyone knew Marquez, his routine, or saw activity near Martin Luther King Jr. and Jackson streets that evening, please share information with investigators.