Rimel Lamour Williamson, a 17-year-old Black/African American male from Braddock, Pennsylvania, was killed late on Sunday, August 27, 2023, in a shooting that also took the life of 17-year-old Nazir Parker. Both teens were identified by the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office, and both were students connected to Woodland Hills High School, just beginning what should have been their senior year.
The shooting happened around 11 p.m.
near Margaretta Street and Center Street in Braddock. An Allegheny County Housing Authority officer was in the area when he heard multiple gunshots. When the officer reached Center Street, Rimel Williamson and Nazir Parker were found dead in the street with gunshot wounds. A third teenager was discovered nearby inside a home, also suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, and was taken to a hospital in critical but stable condition.
The deaths shook the Woodland Hills and Braddock communities almost immediately. School officials described the loss as devastating and said additional support services would be made available to students and staff. Rimel and Nazir had been killed only about a week into the school year, turning what should have been a milestone year into a moment of grief for classmates, teachers, families, and neighbors. Rimel’s family said they were devastated beyond comprehension, while those close to the boys spoke about the pain of losing them before they had the chance to graduate.
In the days after the shooting, police continued gathering evidence near the scene while the community waited for answers. At first, no arrests were announced. Investigators later identified the wounded third teenager as 16-year-old Jerell Rockymore. Authorities said they used surveillance footage and cellphone records to connect Rockymore to the shooting. According to reports on the criminal complaint, the teens had planned to meet earlier that evening, and street camera footage allegedly showed a group of teens gathering before the gunfire erupted.
On September 20, 2023, an arrest was made. The U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force took Jerell Rockymore into custody in Pittsburgh. Allegheny County police said Rockymore was charged in connection with the deaths of Rimel Williamson and Nazir Parker. Reported charges included criminal homicide, criminal conspiracy, receiving stolen property, and illegal possession of a firearm, though some reports listed the charges as criminal homicide, receiving stolen property, and illegal possession of a firearm.
Investigators alleged that Rockymore was not merely another victim of the shooting, but was involved in the violence that left Rimel and Nazir dead. Authorities also said one of the guns connected to material recovered from Rockymore’s phone was found at the Braddock scene. Another teenager, 15-year-old Mohamed Hussein, was reportedly linked to the events surrounding the Braddock shooting through police body camera footage and material found during the investigation, though authorities said no charges had been filed against Hussein. Hussein was later killed in a separate shooting in Pittsburgh’s Allentown neighborhood on September 19, 2023, and police acknowledged the connection to the Braddock case while stopping short of saying his death was retaliation.
By June 2024, Rockymore was reported to still be held at the Allegheny County Jail in connection with the double homicide. Public reports located did not show a final trial outcome or conviction for Rimel Williamson’s killing. The case, as publicly reported, centered on the arrest and homicide charges against Jerell Rockymore, the allegation that he was involved in the shooting, and the continuing grief of a community that lost two high school seniors in the street just as their final year of school had begun.
