In the summer of 2020, a promising life was tragically cut short on the streets of Portland, Oregon. Shai’India Maikayla Harris, an 18-year-old Black/African American female, had her future stolen from her on July 10th. A recent graduate of Parkrose High School, Harris was described by her family as a beautiful, sweet, and intelligent young woman whose spirit could light up a room.
She had plans to move to Atlanta to attend cosmetology school, a dream that would unfortunately never be realized.
On that Friday afternoon, in the Lents neighborhood of Southeast Portland, Harris was standing near a vehicle at the intersection of Southeast 84th Avenue and Flavel Street. Witnesses reported seeing her in a heated argument with the occupants of the car just before a gunshot rang out in broad daylight. First responders arrived at the scene around 12:45 p.m. to find Harris suffering from a gunshot wound. Medics fought to save her, but she succumbed to her injuries at the scene.
In the wake of the devastating loss, Harris's family was adamant that this was an act of domestic violence. They quickly identified the suspected killer as her boyfriend, Kceon Colbert, long before law enforcement officially named him. Three weeks after the shooting, on July 31, the Portland Police Bureau publicly identified 19-year-old Kceon Colbert as the suspect and asked for the public's help in locating him. The search for Colbert continued for several weeks, a period of anguish and uncertainty for Harris's loved ones.
The manhunt came to an end on August 26, 2020, when the United States Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force located and arrested Colbert in Clark County, Washington. Following his arrest, the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office announced that Colbert was being charged with second-degree murder with a firearm constituting domestic violence and unlawful use of a weapon with a firearm constituting domestic violence. The charges brought a measure of relief to a grieving family and community, marking the first step toward justice for Shai’India Harris.
