BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Seven months after a 15-year-old boy was shot and killed outside The Marketplace shopping center, the community is still waiting for answers — and for charges to be filed.
- Seven months after the shooting of 15-year-old Prince Michael Banner, no charges have been filed.
- Wesley Davis from the Wendell Davis Foundation discusses the lasting impact of the tragedy on the community.
Seven months after a 15-year-old boy was shot and killed outside The Marketplace shopping center, the community is still waiting for answers — and for charges to be filed.
Prince Michael Banner was killed on Nov. 10, 2024. According to Bakersfield police, the suspected shooter — identified as Albert Briseno Jr., also 15 — turned himself in just two days later.
Investigators said both teens were armed that night, but only Briseno fired. The case has since been submitted to the Kern County District Attorney’s Office twice, most recently in March. As of Monday, no charges have been filed.
“Anytime a child is murdered, it hits differently,” said Wesley Davis, president of the Wendell Davis Foundation, a local youth mentorship nonprofit. “And to happen at a place like The Marketplace, where families gather — it really devastated people.”
Davis knows the pain of losing a child. His 16-year-old son, Wendell Davis, was murdered in 2006. The foundation that bears his son’s name now works to steer young people away from violence.
“I know the family of the victim. I've been helping them through their grief,” Davis said. “I'm 16 years past my own loss, and the pain is still real. No one wins in situations like this — not the victim’s family, not the accused, not their friends.”
In the aftermath of the shooting, Banner’s mother filed a $15 million claim against the city of Bakersfield, alleging police failed to respond properly to disturbance calls earlier that evening.
Davis believes the shooting forced some in the community to confront the reality that violence is not confined to any one neighborhood.
“The Marketplace shooting made people realize this isn’t just happening in Southeast Bakersfield,” he said. “It opened some eyes.”
While Davis supports greater police presence in teen-frequented spaces, he said more is needed to address the underlying causes of youth violence, particularly the influence of social media and violent entertainment.
“I do think teens are more emboldened,” he said. “One of the main reasons is social media. So I think more adult supervision would be a great place to start.”
The District Attorney’s Office confirmed the case remains under review but declined to comment further.
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