Suspect, 14, arrested in killing of Da’Jon Hayes-Burr
Hayes-Burr was shot on Saturday night in Louisville’s Shawnee neighborhood, according to authorities. He was later pronounced dead at a hospital, and police booked a 14-year-old on a count of murder, as the Louisville news outlet WAVE first reported. Authorities did not name the suspect because of his age and did not release a possible motive, saying the investigation remained open.
The April incident for which Hayes-Burr earned recognition unfolded after a fireworks show, according to local news accounts. Kristyn Stasel told WLKY that she and her 12-year-old daughter were leaving the event when she heard a man direct a sexual comment toward the child. Stasel told the man her daughter was 12, and he replied, “Never too young to have some fun,” leading Stasel to begin screaming for help and yelling for a pedophile.
Hayes-Burr heard Stasel’s cries and, with other teenage boys, confronted the man, later identified as 45-year-old Vasilis Sakellardis, WLKY reported. Sakellardis allegedly tried to charge Stasel but was thrown to the ground by Hayes-Burr and the other boys. A tussle ensued while Stasel and her daughter kept walking, and Sakellardis evidently stabbed Hayes-Burr before police reportedly tackled the attacker and arrested him, according to WLKY.
After spending one night at a hospital, Hayes-Burr told WHAS that he never imagined being put in a position like that but stepped in after realizing “a lot of grown men around … weren’t going to do [anything].” He said, “So, we had to do something.” Stasel told WHAS that Hayes-Burr and the others who faced Sakellardis “were raised right.”
The Louisville city council subsequently awarded Hayes-Burr a proclamation, saying he demonstrated “extraordinary courage, compassion and selflessness” and “valor far beyond his years” by intervening on behalf of Stasel. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear sent Hayes-Burr a letter in May thanking him for his courage and selflessness, a missive that included a ceremonial challenge coin recognizing the teen’s bravery.
In a statement Monday addressing Hayes-Burr’s death, Beshear said he and his wife, Britainy, “are praying for Da’Jon’s family and all those affected by this tragedy.” Beshear said Hayes-Burr “was a child of God whose life was taken far too soon, and his bravery and selflessness will leave a lasting impact on the Louisville community” and all of Kentucky.
Council member Crystal Bast said she could not help thinking “about the future this young man should have had” and “the life he should have lived [and] the difference he could have continued making in this world.” Bast said, “We have babies out here killing babies. Something has to change.”
A statement attributed to Hayes-Burr’s family and reported by WAVE called his death “tragic and senseless.” The statement asked the public “to honor Da’Jone’s memory by choosing kindness, standing up for others, and helping us put an end to the senseless violence that continues to take the lives of our young people.” The statement added that Hayes-Burr “will always be remembered as a hero, a loving son, a cherished family member and a young man whose courage will never be forgotten.”
Since 2020, firearms have been the leading cause of death for children and adolescents in the U.S. between the ages of one and 19, ahead of car accidents and poisoning, according to researchers. Stasel, who could not be reached Monday, shared a news story of Hayes-Burr’s killing on her social media along with a link to an online fundraiser for his mother, Lakeita.