In the afternoon hours of a Friday in Aurora, Colorado, a burst of gunfire shattered the neighborhood's calm, leaving a young boy's life cut tragically short. On November 11, 2022, 12-year-old King Matthew Wright was fatally wounded in what was reported as a drive-by shooting on Zion Street. Another boy, his 13-year-old friend Tayamir Sir Real Winston, was also struck and sustained serious injuries.
The two boys were reportedly walking to meet someone they had arranged to 'hang out' with that day.
The individual they were supposed to meet was 18-year-old Rolando Felipe, an acquaintance of both victims. According to Winston's account from his hospital bed, as he and King Matthew Wright walked up the street to meet Felipe, a handgun was suddenly fired in their direction. Felipe allegedly shot both boys before driving away from the scene. Winston suffered a shotgun wound to his left leg but survived the attack. King Matthew Wright was not as fortunate and succumbed to his injuries.
In the ensuing investigation, Rolando Felipe provided a convoluted and shifting narrative to detectives. Initially, he claimed he was the victim of a robbery the week prior, where his phone, an AR pistol, and other belongings were stolen. He alleged that he was contacted on Facebook to arrange a meeting to retrieve his stolen property. His first account to the police described two masked individuals with hoodies approaching him with handguns, prompting him to fire in self-defense. However, his story began to unravel under further questioning.
Felipe later admitted that neither of the boys was wearing a mask and that he never actually saw a gun pointed at him, only speculating that he saw the outline of a weapon in one of their waistbands. Critically, he confessed to investigators that he could have driven away from the situation and 'did not have to fire' at the two boys. Information provided by Tayamir Winston's older brother aided police in locating and apprehending Rolando Felipe, who was subsequently arrested in connection with the fatal shooting.
