Malik Jones and Shaniya Smith died after being found with gunshot wounds Sunday at a home on Denton Street.
WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. — Authorities have identified Malik Jones and Shaniya Smith as the two people killed in a Sunday shooting at a West Memphis residence while investigators continue working to establish what happened and police search for a teenage suspect.
The deaths stem from a shooting reported Aug. 30 in the 500 block of Denton Street. West Memphis officers responding to the home found Jones and Shaniya Smith with gunshot wounds. Emergency personnel attempted lifesaving measures, but both victims died, authorities said.
Police have since identified 17-year-old Zaelyn Taylor Smith as a suspect in the double homicide. Authorities say warrants have been issued accusing him of two counts of first-degree murder, aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of a minor. Police consider him armed and dangerous.
Much about the circumstances surrounding the deaths remains publicly unknown. Investigators have not announced a motive or explained what happened immediately before the shooting. Authorities also have not said what relationship, if any, Jones and Shaniya Smith had to Zaelyn Taylor Smith.
Police have likewise not released details explaining the aggravated assault and child-endangerment accusations listed with the murder warrants. The existence of the endangering charge does not by itself establish what role a minor may have had in the events, and officials have not publicly provided those circumstances.
The initial response drew a significant law enforcement presence to the Denton Street area and was described in early reporting as an apparent standoff. Later information centered on the two deaths and the search for Zaelyn Taylor Smith, but authorities have not released a detailed account of the police operation at the residence.
The case remained an active homicide investigation as police sought information that could lead to the suspect. Crittenden County Crime Stoppers announced a reward of up to $2,000 for information about his whereabouts, and West Memphis police also asked people with information to contact the department.
The warrants mark the beginning of the criminal process rather than a finding of guilt. No court has determined the allegations against Zaelyn Taylor Smith, and publicly available reports did not indicate that he had been taken into custody as of the latest update.
Investigators have not announced when additional information about the killings will be released. The search for Zaelyn Taylor Smith remained underway, while the motive, sequence of events and circumstances surrounding the deaths of Jones and Shaniya Smith had not been publicly established.
Author note: Last updated September 1, 2026.