Three men have been arrested in connection with the shooting death of 15-year-old Trinity Gay, the daughter of U.S. Olympic sprinter Tyson Gay, police in Kentucky announced.
Chazerae M. Taylor, 38, and D’markeo C. Taylor, 19, who are father and son, were charged with wanton endangerment Sunday, Lexington police said in a release.
Dvonta Middlebrooks, 21, was also arrested and charged with wanton endangerment and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Investigators believe Middlebrooks was in the parking lot of Lexington’s Cook Out restaurant and fired multiple shots when the teen was mortally wounded around 4 a.m. Sunday. Witnesses reported gunfire exchanged between two vehicles, police said in a statement. The teen was fatally shot in her neck, LEX 18 News reported, and was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
A fourth man who was questioned by police has not been charged. A second vehicle that was sought by police, described as a blue Ford passenger car, has been found. The investigation remains ongoing, police said.
Trinity was following in her father’s footsteps as a sprinter at Lafayette High School ― the same place where Gay got his start, according to the school.
Her father, who now lives in central Florida, expressed shock at the senseless violence.
“She didn’t make it. I’m so confused. She was just here last week for fall break. It’s so crazy. I have no idea what happened,” he told the local news station.
The teen’s mother echoed the same heartbreak.
“She was so innocent, she was so innocent,” Shoshana Boyd told the New York Daily News. “I just want people to stop shooting and realize who they’re hurting. It’s just random. They don’t understand, they don’t understand who they’re hurting.”
Trinity’s school and fellow athletes have since expressed their condolences to her family and community on Twitter.
Tyson Gay, who was born in Lexington, earned three gold medals at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, Japan. In the 2012 Olympics in London, he took home a silver medal in the 4x100 meters relay team but later lost it after testing positive for a banned substance in 2013.
Anyone with information about Sunday’s shooting is encouraged to contact police by texting LEXPD, plus the tip, to CRIMES (274637). Information can also be submitted anonymously through Bluegrass Crime Stoppers at (859) 253-2020 or on their website.
This post has been updated to include information on three men arrested in connection with the shooting.