‘He treated everybody right’: Mother remembers teen son shot, killed in downtown Wichita
Ja’Qualen Dupree, 18, was heading out the door to go pick up his two younger brothers from school on Monday Oct. 2. His mother, Kenyette Miles, recalls the exchange of words before he left.
“Safe travels, mom,” Ja’Qualen told his mom as a farewell. “Safe travels, son” Miles said back.
That was the last time Miles spoke with her son. Shortly after that, police came knocking at the door.
The shooting
Miles said Ja’Qualen left their north Wichita home at 3:05 p.m. to pick up his siblings, Jayce and Jamier at Gordon Parks K-8 Academy. Both of the boys got out of school at 3:10 p.m.
Acquaintances of Ja’Qualen asked him to give them a ride somewhere before picking up his brothers. One of the friends, Tyshon Jacques, had been staying over at the family’s house for the past couple of days, Miles told an Eagle reporter.
“They was just watching TV, playing the PlayStation,” Miles said. “You know, talking, rapping, vibing.”
School officials called Miles at 3:30 p.m. asking if her boys had a ride home. No one had come to pick them up.
“I did the find my iPhone and his [Ja’Qualen] phone was live by the YMCA for like 10 minutes,” Miles said. “Five minutes later, the school called back and said they’ll just take them home for me.”
Meanwhile, Wichita police responded at 3:16 p.m. to a shooting downtown in the 400 block of North Broadway, near the Robert D. Love YMCA.
They found Ja’Qualen, who had been shot inside his Dodge Charger, which then hit a pole.
Final moments
Danielle Sellers and Marticia Vaughn of Wichita drove by, saw the car hit the curb and saw people running. Sellers said she originally thought someone had a seizure.
They ran up and found Ja’Qualen slumped over. They immediately noticed he had been shot and used a piece of clothing to apply pressure to the wound on his head, Sellers said.
He was responding to what they said as they used oxygen from the nearby YMCA. Sellers told him it was going to be OK and that help was on the way.
Tears ran down his face, Sellers said.
“I’m thankful we were there to give some type of comfort,” Sellers said. “That he was not alone at that time.”
He was taken to a hospital, where he died.
Who was Ja’Qualen Dupree?
Miles said her son was heavily involved with his family and got along with everyone he met. He was the second oldest of four children.
“He was what one might say a mama’s boy,” Miles said. “He would always say ‘Mom, I’m always going to live with you. ... we’re never going to be apart. ‘ “
An aspiring artist, Ja’Qualen had a “wide vocabulary” at the age of 9 and enjoyed reading, his mother said.
He was planning to enroll at Simon Youth Academy, an alternative high school program inside Towne East Square. Afterward, the family was looking to move to Seattle, Washington to pursue Ja’Qualen’s music interests, Miles said.
“They have the House of Blues there and a lot of different [music] agents, managers and different stuff to soak up,” Miles said. “He really liked music. That was his number one passion.”
Friends and family members gathered near the intersection of Broadway and Third Street on Thursday evening for a candlelight vigil.
“People loved him and he was a handsome, intelligent and caring kid,” Miles said. “He treated everybody right and had friends from all walks of life.”
A GoFundMe has been created to help pay for Ja’Qualen’s funeral arrangements.
An arrest
At the time of the shooting, witnesses described a car coming to a slow stop, with several people exiting and running in different directions. Police later said they contacted five people.
One was identified as the shooter and was apprehended after a foot chase around Kellogg Drive and Topeka Street, police spokesperson Juan Rebolledo said in a news release.
Tyshon Jacques, 18, of Wichita has been charged by the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office with second-degree intentional murder in connection with the shooting, according to Rebolledo.
Miles said Ja’Qualen and Tyshon had been longtime friends.
“It was his friend that he grew up with and trusted him,” Miles said. “My son, as caring as he was, didn’t deserve it at all.”
Contributing: Michael Stavola of The Wichita Eagle
This story was originally published October 9, 2023 at 2:30 PM.