Da’Jon Anthony Hayes-Burr was 15 years old and already knew what it meant to risk himself for someone else.
In April, during the Thunder Over Louisville festival in Kentucky, he saw a 45-year-old man harassing a 12-year-old girl. He did not stand by and watch; he stepped in, and the man stabbed him in the stomach before police subdued him. He survived.
Weeks later, Governor Andy Beshear personally presented him with a letter of recognition and an honor coin for his bravery.
Da’Jon returned to his normal life, with a scar and a medal proving that he had done the right thing when no one asked him to.
At the end of July, he was shot in Louisville’s Shawnee neighborhood.
He died on the way to the hospital. A young man now faces charges in his killing, but authorities have not yet revealed what triggered it.
His family asked for only one thing: that the community choose kindness, just as he did until the end.