Jermonee Tolliver Moore, a 19-year-old Black / African American woman from Phoenix, Arizona, was killed on October 15, 2017, after gunfire erupted at a crowded house party on the city’s west side. In the early morning hours, around 2 a.m., Phoenix police were called to a residence near 107th Avenue and Camelback Road after reports of shots fired during a gathering that had drawn many young adults.
Prior to the shooting, witnesses told investigators that a fight had broken out between several men and women at the party, and those involved were asked to leave the home. A short time later, someone returned and opened fire from outside in a drive-by-style attack, sending bullets into the house and striking multiple people inside.
Jermonee was gravely wounded by the gunfire and was rushed to a trauma center, where medical staff fought to save her life. Reports note that doctors revived her multiple times, but ultimately she succumbed to massive blood loss from her injuries. Her mother, Kimberly Moore, later described how she was able to reach the hospital in time to be at her daughter’s side, holding her hand as she took her final breath. In the same shooting, three men between the ages of 19 and 21 were also hit; two of them were listed in critical condition in the immediate aftermath. The sudden violence turned what had begun as a social gathering into a crime scene, leaving family and friends devastated and the wider community shaken.
In the days that followed, Jermonee’s family pleaded publicly for anyone with information to come forward, and her grandmother spoke about how much she was loved and urged people to teach their children the value of life and to speak up if they knew anything. Initially, police said they did not have a viable suspect description and called on witnesses to assist the investigation. A break came when detectives identified a potential suspect connected to the house party and the earlier altercation. Within a few days of the shooting, Phoenix police announced the arrest of 20-year-old Malik Berkely, who was taken into custody on a Wednesday and identified as the suspect in the drive-by attack that killed Jermonee and wounded three men. Authorities stated that the shooting occurred after the earlier fight at the party and that the suspect returned and fired numerous shots at the home, but publicly available reports do not provide detailed information about his subsequent court proceedings or final case disposition.
Over time, Jermonee’s death has continued to be remembered in both local and national contexts documenting gun violence. Her name appears in national compilations of victims killed by firearms in the weeks between the mass shootings in Las Vegas and Sutherland Springs, where her story is recounted alongside others whose lives were cut short. Community memorial pages dedicated to victims of gun violence describe how mourners have lit many candles in her honor and left comments remembering her as exceptionally kind, beautiful in spirit, and someone who should never have been taken in such a way. Case-tracking sites list her homicide as solved following the arrest but still invite the public to share any new information or memories, underscoring that while an arrest was made, the impact of the crime continues to ripple through her family, friends, and the Phoenix community.
