De’Jon Sledge, also known as “DayDay,” was a 16-year-old Black male from Sacramento, California, whose life ended on April 10, 2026, after gunfire erupted on the campus of Natomas High School. He was identified by family as the teen killed in the shooting, and reports described him as a student at Discovery High School, a nearby school, rather than Natomas High.
The shooting happened just after classes had let out, turning the campus on Fong Ranch Road into a scene of panic as students ran, parents rushed for answers, and Sacramento police flooded the area while searching for the person who had fired the fatal shot.
In the first days after the shooting, much of the public focus centered on the grief surrounding De’Jon’s death and the fear it caused among students and families. His mother pushed back against rumors that he was connected to gang activity, saying through public statements that her son was caring, passionate, and determined to walk the right path. A family friend described him as someone who helped people and did what he could for his family. At the same time, parents at Natomas High questioned how a deadly shooting could happen on campus and whether the school district had enough protection in place after the removal of school resource officers from Natomas Unified campuses.
Police initially said they believed the suspected shooter was a current Natomas High School student. A person of interest was detained, and by April 14, authorities confirmed that a 16-year-old had been arrested or booked in connection with the shooting. Early reports described the case as an ongoing investigation and said officials had not yet released a full explanation of what led up to the gunfire. That changed when the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office released more details after reviewing the evidence.
According to prosecutors, De’Jon and another person went onto the Natomas High School campus even though they were not students there. The district attorney’s account said they were looking for a specific student, and that De’Jon had a ski mask and a handgun when they found him. Prosecutors described what followed as a violent attempted robbery. The targeted student was also armed, and during the confrontation, he shot De’Jon. The District Attorney’s Office concluded that the shooting was an act of self-defense and that there was not enough evidence to file homicide-related charges.
Because of that decision, the student who fired the fatal shot was not charged with murder or homicide in De’Jon’s death. However, prosecutors said he was not completely cleared of criminal responsibility, because he would still face weapons-related charges connected to having a firearm on campus. The other person who was with De’Jon was expected to be charged in juvenile court with attempted robbery. No adult suspect was publicly identified, and because the people involved were juveniles, authorities did not release their names.
The aftermath of De’Jon’s death quickly expanded beyond the criminal investigation. Natomas Unified increased its safety presence, Sacramento police added support around the campus, and district leaders began discussing whether armed school resource officers should return. Some officials argued that police on campus could deter violence and reassure families, while some parents and community advocates warned that bringing officers back would not address the deeper causes of youth gun violence. Community organizations also stepped in to provide counseling and de-escalation support, framing the shooting as part of a larger crisis affecting young people across Sacramento.
By the end of the first round of public reporting, the case stood in a complicated place: a teenager was dead, another student was facing weapons charges but no homicide charge, and an alleged accomplice was facing juvenile attempted robbery proceedings. Prosecutors treated the fatal shot as legally justified self-defense, but the incident still left a school community shaken by the reality that multiple young people were allegedly armed or involved in a confrontation on campus. De’Jon’s family and supporters mourned him as a young person whose life should not have ended that way, while investigators and prosecutors described the final moments as a violent encounter that turned deadly in seconds.
