JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Nearly four years ago Rashaud Fields walked across the stage to get his diploma from Raines High School. Hours later, the 18-year-old was shot and killed at a graduation party. No one has been arrested for his murder at this time.
His parents, Janice and Ronnie Fields, have spent the last four years fighting for justice in the case.
“I’m hurt, I’m disgusted, and I’m just, you know, I am heartbroken,” Janice Fields said. “Just to know that four years going by and no answers, no justice, it really breaks my heart.”
Family and community members gathered Thursday to honor Rashaud’s memory, reflecting on the kind of person he was.
“He was the life of everybody,” his mother said. “The principal said he was a leader. He was not a follower. He was always a leader. He loves to push the young fellas on the football team. That just was the great person that Rashaud was. He was born to be great.”
Saray Green, a classmate and long-time friend of Rashaud’s, graduated alongside him in 2022. She says not having answers four years later has taken a toll.
“It hardens my heart very much,” she said. “I have moments all day, every day, random. It’s unfortunate. And it has me at a loss of words.”
She is urging whoever killed Rashaud to come forward.
“How would you feel if it was you? If it was your family member?” Green said. “So, just gotta be fair all the way around.”
District 10 Councilwoman Ju’Coby Pittman says the case remains frustratingly unsettled.
“We really don’t know if he was a target or not. We really don’t know that because no one is talking, no one wants to be a snitch, and that’s unfortunate,” Pittman said.
Pittman is also working to address the root causes of violence in her district. She said the state recently approved money for District 10 to help support small businesses and prevent crime.
“Receiving $3 million is a rollout of plans that the residents developed in the vision and implementation plan for District 10,” Pittman said. “We feel that these dollars would help through prevention programs, perhaps, and working with maybe even churches and nonprofits because it matters.”
Janice Fields says she will not stop fighting until she gets answers about who killed her son.
“If you know something, say something,” she said. “You could be sitting in the same seat I’m sitting in right now. All I ask y’all to do is please, please, if y’all know something say something — and you will remain anonymous.”
Fields also said the fight for justice extends beyond her family.
“Me and my husband, we fight for justice, but not just only for Rashaud, but for the other kids in this community, to put the guns down and stop the gun violence.”
Anyone with information about Rashaud Fields’ killer or the graduation party where he was shot is asked to contact the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office at 904-630-0500 or through email at jsocrimetips@jaxsheriff.org. You can also submit an anonymous tip to Crimestoppers by calling 1-866-845-TIPS (8477).