On a summer evening in Baltimore, the life of 23-year-old Tyrice Lor Scoota Watson, a burgeoning male rapper, was cut short by gunfire. Just moments after hosting a 'Pray For Peace in These Streets' charity basketball game at Morgan State University on June 25, 2016, Watson was driving his car near the intersection of Moravia Road and Harford Road. An unidentified Black male, wearing a white bandana, stepped into the street and opened fire on Watson's vehicle.
Watson was struck and died at a local hospital shortly after the targeted attack. The brazen shooting, which occurred around 7 p.m., sent shockwaves through the community, as Watson had been actively involved in anti-violence initiatives, even joining a city councilman on a tour of local high schools to encourage students to stay in school.
The investigation into Watson's murder revealed a complex web of street justice and retaliation. Baltimore police believed the killing was a retaliatory act, possibly connected to a previous violent crime allegedly committed by an associate of Watson. The tragic cycle of violence continued when, just 11 days after Watson's death, his manager, Trayvon Lee, was also fatally shot. While police investigated a possible connection between the two murders, they determined that the gun used to kill Lee was not the same one used in Watson's shooting. The investigation into Lee's death remains ongoing.
In the months that followed, authorities made some progress in the case of Lor Scoota's death. A significant break came when police arrested a man named Avery Walton, who was found in possession of the handgun used to kill the rapper. Ballistics testing confirmed it was the murder weapon, and Walton was named a person of interest, though not charged with the murder itself but with gun and drug offenses. Another person of interest, 22-year-old Cortez Mitchell, was publicly identified by police. However, before any charges could be brought against him in Watson's case, Mitchell himself was shot and killed in his vehicle in October 2016. Police stated that Mitchell was one of several persons of interest and that his death was another example of the 'revolving door of violence' plaguing the city. To date, no one has been convicted for the murder of Tyrice 'Lor Scoota' Watson.
