Kymere Mehki Allen, a 19-year-old Black/African American male, died after a shooting in Wilmington, Delaware, on May 8, 2024. The violence unfolded in the Southbridge area on a Wednesday afternoon, when emergency crews were drawn into what appeared to be a chaotic scene involving two wounded teens. One gunshot victim reportedly approached a fire station on New Castle Avenue looking for help, while around the same time, 911 dispatchers received another report of a shooting victim nearby in the
400 block of South Heald Street.
Police said both victims had suffered multiple gunshot wounds and were taken to a local trauma center. Allen did not survive his injuries. The second victim, also 19, survived and was reported to be in stable condition. Early reporting described the incidents as possibly related, but the exact circumstances of the shooting, including what led up to the gunfire and whether both victims were struck in the same encounter, remained under investigation.
Allen was born and raised in Wilmington and was known to family and friends as “KyKy.” His obituary described him as someone with a radiant smile, a quick wit, and a sensitive nature. Family was central to his life, and he was remembered as someone who cherished time with his children. He had attended Concord High School, and in the months before his death, he had enrolled in the Challenge Program for at-risk youth, where he was working toward earning his GED and learning carpentry skills so he could become employable and self-sufficient.
Publicly available reports did not identify any suspect or suspects in Allen’s killing. No arrest, criminal charge, trial, plea, or conviction tied to his death was found in the online sources reviewed. The case was described as an active Wilmington Police Department investigation, with authorities still working to determine the circumstances surrounding the shooting and who was responsible.
