Black Teen Killed Over Loud Music 8 Years to the Day After Jordan Davis' Death

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Eight years to the day after 17-year-old Jordan Davis was shot and killed after listening to loud music with his friends, another Black teen met the same fate during a similar argument with a white man.

Though police didn’t reveal his name, the victim of the fatal shooting last week has been identified as 19-year-old Aidan Ellison, according to The Oregonian.

The young Black man was shot dead by 47-year-old Robert Paul Keegan in the early hours of November 23 in the parking lot of a Stratford Inn in Ashland, Oregon. The two had argued over the volume of music playing in Ellison’s car, according to police. Keegan has since been charged with murder and unlawful possession of a weapon.

“Aidan was murdered in cold blood, by an older white man with an illegal firearm. Nothing Aidan did justifies his young life being taken,” his mother, Andrea Wofford, told VICE News.

Keegan, who is originally from Talent, Oregon, had been staying at the inn with his family after being displaced by the Almeda wildfires in September, an Ashland city administrator told VICE News. Ellison was also staying at the inn at the time of the shooting. Sometime after the back-and-forth, Keegan allegedly pulled a gun from his coat and fired a single shot at the victim’s chest, according to police.

Police say they received a call about the shooting around 4:20 a.m. local time and that the teen was already deceased when they arrived on the scene. Keegan, who was still at the scene of the shooting when authorities arrived, was arrested. Police say Keegan and the teen did not know each other prior to the argument and that an investigation into the shooting is ongoing.

Ashland Police Chief Tighe O’Meara did not mince words as to who’s to blame for the deadly encounter.

“The only thing that caused this murder was [the] suspect's actions, 100%,” he said in a Facebook post last Thursday. “Yes, there was an argument over music. No, this did not happen because of loud music. It happened because the suspect chose to bring a gun with him and chose to use it. [It is] 100% on him, not the poor young man that was murdered.”

Jim Tumpane, the owner of the Stratford Inn, also shared his condolences with Ellison’s family and loved ones four days after the tragic shooting.

“Our hearts grieve for his family and friends,” Tumpane said in a Facebook post. “We appreciate the vigils that have been coordinated. Please come and take a moment to leave a candle at the vigil site in our parking lot in honor of Aidan. We also welcome and greatly encourage the posting of 'Black Lives Matter' signs on our property.”

Ben Crump, a civil rights attorney who is representing the families of Black men and women killed by law enforcement, including George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, took to Twitter to express his frustration with the shooting.

“Aidan Ellison should be alive today, but Robert Keegan fatally shot him over ‘loud music’—BUT this was NOT about music,” he wrote in a thread about Ellison’s death. “That’s false justification for killing a Black teen!” 

He questioned why Keegan was not charged with a hate crime in Ellison’s death. He also pointed out Oregon is not a stand your ground state but does not require armed citizens with a duty to retreat.

Keegan will face charges of second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter, reckless endangering, and unlawful possession of a weapon, according to Ashland police. Keegan “had a handgun unlawfully concealed on him,” Chief O’Meara told VICE News.

Keegan has already pleaded not guilty and is being held at the Jackson County Jail without bail. He’s expected to make his first court appearance on February 21, 2021.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help support Ellison’s mother. Close friends of the slain teenager have also begun selling hoodies on Etsy in Ellison’s memory, with the profits to help Ellison’s mom, according to NBC Oregon affiliate KOBI-5.

The fatal shooting in Ashland last week bears striking similarities to the shooting of Jordan Davis in Jacksonville, Florida, exactly eight years before. On Nov. 23, 2012, Davis was shot by 45-year-old Michael Dunn, a white man, after the two argued over loud music at a gas station. Three other teenagers were in the car that Dunn fired at, but Dunn only hit Davis, in his legs, lungs, and heart.

In 2014, Dunn was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole.