Zion Demetrius Mitchell, a 23-year-old Black / African American male, died on June 27, 2023, after a shooting in Montgomery, West Virginia, that also took the life of Craig Kinder of Mount Carbon. The violence unfolded shortly after midnight near the Family Dollar in the 1000 block of Second Avenue, along Route 61, close to the Kanawha and Fayette County line.
Police said the two men were found shot in the street after an altercation, and the scene quickly drew a large response from Montgomery police and other law enforcement agencies.
Mitchell was identified as being from Charleston in police and news reports, while his obituary described him as Zion D. Mitchell of Columbus, Ohio, born on March 17, 2000. His family remembered him as a loving, caring, respectful young man who was especially loved by his parents, family, and friends. He enjoyed making music, playing basketball, and spending time on his computer, and he had graduated from Riverside High School. What began as an ordinary summer night in Montgomery became a double homicide investigation that left two families searching for answers.
In the immediate aftermath, there was confusion over whether a suspect had been taken into custody. Montgomery Police Chief Paris Workman later clarified that no one had been arrested, saying investigators had detained several people during the case, were following leads, reviewing video, and collecting evidence, but had not made an arrest. Police continued working the case as a murder investigation, but the motive was not publicly determined.
A month later, the pain around the case had not eased. Craig Kinder’s family spoke publicly about their fear that memories would fade and evidence could become harder to gather with time. They urged anyone with information to come forward, hoping the case would not be forgotten. Public reporting available after the shooting did not identify a charged suspect, report a trial, or confirm a conviction in Zion Mitchell’s death, and the case remained described in those reports as one in which investigators were still seeking answers.
