Desoto PD Says Mistaken Identity on Social Media Resulted In Retaliation Killing
DESOTO – DeSoto Police Corporal Pete Schulte, Police Legal Advisor and PIO said the tragic shooting that happened earlier this week in the city was directly related to social media, specifically integral.
“It caused an innocent man to be killed,” Schulte said.
It was a matter of mistaken relation that linked the two Capital Murders from April 22 and 25.
On April 22 DeSoto Police reported the slaying of 19-year-old DeSoto resident Camran Kashawn Collier. Collier was shot to death in the driver’s seat of his 2013 Honda Accord in the 1100 block of Westlake Drive in the late afternoon.
“Three days later, on April 25, 2021, a “balloon release” ceremony was held in Camran’s honor at Les Zeiger Park, in Desoto,” Schulte said.
Immediately following the ceremony one of the attendees, 20-year-old Lancaster resident Kolby Marquise Graham was shot in the head by a participant at the ceremony.
Graham was shot in front of others who attended the ceremony. The Lancaster resident initially survived the shooting but died several days later. According to a Facebook post from his sister, Kolby was Camran’s best friend.
Schulte said none of the participants who witnessed this shooting came forward to the police with information about the identity of the shooter.
Investigating A Connection To The Collier Murder
DeSoto detectives felt that there was a connection to the initial killing of Collier, but could not release this information at that time because the investigation was still active.
Their follow-up investigation however, determined that Graham had been mistakenly identified as Camran’s killer on several social media postings.
Tying in social media, 22-year-old Norman Christopher Collier IV, the brother of the murder victim Camran Collier mistakenly believed the internet rumors about the identity of his brother’s killer.
The brother then took revenge against the wrong man at his brother’s balloon release ceremony by shooting Graham April 25.
DeSoto Police have arrested Collier and charged him with Capital Murder for the slaying of 20-year-old Graham.
Collier is currently in custody in the Dallas County jail being held on a $1 million bond.
