Tayvonne Avery, a 15-year-old Black/African American male from Chester, Pennsylvania, was killed on March 10, 2020, in a shooting that turned an ordinary afternoon near a basketball court into a scene of grief and confusion. The gunfire erupted around 2:30 p.m. in the area of the 200 block of Broomall Street, where several teenagers were gathered and some were playing basketball.
Police responding to reports of shots fired found two 15-year-old boys, Tayvonne Avery and Edward Harmon, suffering from gunshot wounds. Both were pronounced dead at the scene.
The shooting also wounded two other juveniles. One injured teen was taken to a hospital in serious condition, while another later arrived at Crozer-Chester Medical Center with a gunshot wound to the torso and was reported to be in good condition or expected to survive. Police said the crime scene expanded for blocks as officers worked to piece together what had happened. Early reports described the shooter or shooters as unidentified, and authorities had not said what sparked the gunfire.
Tayvonne's death was especially devastating because the violence happened in a place where children were supposed to feel safe. Family members described the terror of rushing toward the scene and waiting for confirmation of whether their child was among the victims. Tayvonne's mother, Jenice Bailey, recalled the pain of standing there without answers, waiting to learn if her son had been killed. He was remembered alongside Edward Harmon by the Chester High School community, where Edward played varsity basketball and Tayvonne was part of the junior varsity team.
In the days after the shooting, the Chester High School basketball team honored the victims before a state tournament game, with teammates, coaches, school officials, and families carrying the weight of the loss into the gym. School leaders described students coming together while in pain, and the team played in memory of the boys who should have been with them. The shooting left the community mourning not only two lives lost, but also the sense that even a basketball court had become unsafe.
Available online reports stated that no arrests had been made in the immediate aftermath of Tayvonne Avery's killing, and no suspect or suspects had been publicly identified. Police and Delaware County prosecutors were described as investigating the quadruple shooting, and a $15,000 reward was offered for information leading to an arrest. No publicly available online source located reported a later arrest, trial, conviction, or named suspect connected specifically to Tayvonne Avery's death.
