In the early evening of July 3, 2022, a sense of unease settled over a residence at 4212 N. Lottie in Oklahoma City. An altercation had broken out between 17-year-old Jaylen Colbert, a Black male, and two other individuals. The nature of the dispute remains unclear, but it escalated with sudden and irreversible violence. A gunshot pierced the air, and Jaylen was struck.
In the immediate aftermath, a private vehicle was used to rush him to a local fire station in a desperate bid for help.
From there, emergency medical services took over, transporting him to an area hospital. Despite the efforts to save him, Jaylen Colbert was pronounced deceased.
Oklahoma City police were summoned to the scene of the shooting at approximately 6:51 p.m. Upon their arrival, they began the painstaking process of piecing together the events that led to the fatal encounter. The two individuals involved in the altercation with Jaylen had not been identified in the initial stages of the investigation, and no immediate arrests were made. The case was classified as the city's 38th homicide of the year, leaving a family to grieve and a community to await answers.
