Cedric Anthony Peete Jr., a 41-year-old Black / African American male, was killed in a shooting on June 17, 2021, on the west side of Tucson, Arizona. He was a Tucson resident whose death was later noted in online obituaries and memorial pages that record he “passed away” on that date and identify him as the victim of gun violence.
Just before 7:00 a.m.
that morning, Tucson Police Department officers from Operations Division South were dispatched to a report of a shooting at a home in the 1300 block of South Copias Way, in a residential area near Starr Pass Boulevard and Greasewood Road. When officers arrived, they found Peete outside the home with obvious signs of gunshot trauma. Police rendered first aid until Tucson Fire personnel arrived, but despite those efforts he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene, and the incident was immediately treated as a homicide.
Detectives from the department’s Violent Crimes Unit responded to take over the investigation. According to statements later summarized in local news coverage, witnesses reported that a stranger arrived at the residence, and it was at that point that the shooting occurred. Investigators collected physical evidence at the scene and interviewed several witnesses. Police emphasized that, based on the information they had, they did not believe the shooting was a random act, and repeatedly asked anyone with information to contact either Tucson Police directly or the anonymous tip line 88-CRIME.
Funeral and memorial information published online shows that Peete’s family held services about a month later, including a visitation on July 16, 2021, at Funeraria del Angel University, followed by a funeral service on July 17 at Friendship Missionary Baptist Church and a committal service at South Lawn in Tucson, reflecting that his death was formally recognized in the community as a homicide loss.
Regarding arrests or suspects, the initial police and media reports specified that no suspects were in custody in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, even though investigators believed it was targeted rather than random. Subsequent online case summaries that compile official information and track case status continue to describe the incident as an unsolved homicide, noting the same facts about the location, time of day, and investigative response and explicitly asking for any updates from the public. As of the most recent information available from these public online sources, there are no records indicating that a suspect has been publicly identified or arrested in connection with the killing, and authorities appear to still be seeking leads.
