MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Jessica Kizer’s 16-year-old son, Jeremiah Arnold, was killed on Roland Street in Midtown in March 2024. A year after her son’s death, she is still searching for answers and justice.
Kizer says that night, Jeremiah left one party and took several friends to another party in Midtown.
She says it was close to 11 p.m. and almost time for Jeremiah to start heading home.
“I’m checking the 360 app, and I’m like, why is he in the Midtown area? I don’t know anything about that area, and he definitely don’t know anything about that area,” said Kizer.
So, she called Jeremiah and told him to come home.
“Five minutes had passed. What’s going on? He’s still in the same location off of Roland Street. So, I started back calling his phone, no answer, I texted him, no answer,” she said.
That’s when Kizer started to get worried.
“The next 10 minutes, I get a phone call from one of his friends. When I picked up the phone, he said, ‘I think Jeremiah has been shot,'” said Kizer.
Kizer says Jeremiah’s friend told her that as they were walking to the car to leave, someone drove by, opening fire on them. She then rushed to the scene to check on her son.
“I pull up on the street, and I see the police, the ambulance, and the fire truck,” Kizer said. “On the scene and at the end of the corner, I see yellow tape.”
Paramedics told her that Jeremiah had already been rushed to Regional One Hospital.
“I get in the emergency room, and the guy from the chapel met me, and he was like, ‘This is very critical. We are going to have a nurse to come in and talk to you,’ but he was like, ‘Jeremiah was shot in the head and it’s pretty critical,'” she said.
Kizer says a few minutes later, Jeremiah’s doctor came out to update her on his condition.
“He said, ‘The way the bullet went in, he lost an eye, and I just don’t know if he is going to make it,'” said Kizer.
That’s when Kizer says she lost it. Sadly, Jeremiah didn’t survive.
“I wished that he had of stayed home that day instead of going to no party at all,” she said.
One year later, Kizer is still waiting for her son’s killer to be arrested, and she hopes that someone will call Memphis Police and tell them who pulled the trigger.
“Everything that is done in the dark is going to come to the light, and I’m not going to stop until I get justice for my son,” Kizer said.
If you know who killed 16-year-old Jeremiah Arnold, you are urged to call Crimestoppers at 901-528-CASH. Your tip could help put a dangerous criminal behind bars and put $4,000 in your pocket. Remember, all calls are confidential.