Late on the night of Tuesday, June 7, 2016, 38-year-old Chavis Allen was in his front yard on Dogwood Court in Gulfport, Mississippi, when someone opened fire and Allen was struck in the chest. Police received a call at 11:26 p.m.; Allen was taken to Memorial Hospital at Gulfport and underwent surgery but died of his wounds and was pronounced dead at 4:23 a.m. on Wednesday, June 8, 2016.

Family remembered Allen as a quiet man with a heart of gold, a former Harrison Central High athlete who played basketball and football and a proud, loving father to a young daughter they described as the greatest joy in his life. The shooting prompted an investigation that led to the arrest of 19-year-old Gary Desean Perkins, who was charged with murder and held at the Harrison County jail on $1 million bond; authorities did not immediately disclose how Perkins was linked to the crime.

If anyone remembers being in the Dogwood Court area that night or has information about the shooting, please come forward.