Karyah Duncan, 15, a Black female, was shot on the afternoon of October 6, 2025, while sitting in a car with two teenage boys outside Anchor’s Seafood and Chicken on Clearlake Road in unincorporated Cocoa, Florida. Deputies said multiple assailants ambushed the group, opening fire in what investigators described as a targeted attack near Cocoa High School. Karyah was rushed to a hospital, where she died of her injuries; the two boys were wounded but survived.
In the days that followed, the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office identified and arrested 20-year-old Jonterich Smith in connection with the ambush. Authorities announced he was charged with first-degree premeditated murder and two counts of aggravated battery with a firearm; a judge subsequently ordered him held without bond. The sheriff publicly characterized the shooting as a deliberate assault and personally oversaw Smith’s transfer to the county jail.
Detectives also named a second suspect, 20-year-old Xazavier Butler, and issued an active warrant for his arrest on the same charges. As of mid-October, investigators said Butler remained at large and urged the public to share tips to help locate him.
Community tributes underscored the loss of a promising teen whose name quickly circulated through local newscasts and remembrance pages. Candlelight vigils were held in Cocoa, and online memorials recorded the date and place of her death, reflecting the grief felt by family and friends and the wider community as the investigation progressed.
