Innocent 15-Year-Old Basketball Player Wrongfully Detained and Racially Profiled by Police in Carbondale, Illinois
Police report two adults arrested at scene, but teenager denies involvement in gunfire.
November 4, 2026
This article was last updated by Alisha Shrestha on November 4, 2026
A mother in Carbondale says police wrongfully detained her 15‑year‑old son and racially profiled him after gunfire rang out near W. Cherry Street early Sunday morning, while the Carbondale Police Department reports officers arrested two other people at the scene and recovered firearms and shell casings.
Police say officers heard around 12:25 a.m. on November 2 in the 400 block of W. Cherry Street and arrived to find several people running from the area.
Officers recovered two firearms that had been discarded and empty shell casings; they say no injuries were reported, but that gunfire damaged an abandoned house.
The department arrested 18‑year‑old Brandon J. Moore of Oklahoma for resisting and obstructing a peace officer and 39‑year‑old Lanika L. White of Carbondale on a Jackson County warrant for driving with a suspended license.
Both were lodged in the Jackson County Jail pending detention hearings.
But Lynette White, who identified herself as the mother of a 15‑year‑old who plays basketball, says officers detained her son without cause.
In a she shared publicly, White alleges officers targeted her son because of his race and appearance — “dreads, a hoodie and a backpack,” she wrote — and held him while other people fled the scene.
White says she has video evidence showing her son was inside a nearby house before shots were fired and that officers illegally detained him anyway.
White also accused the same officer of previous racial profiling and said she and neighbors were looking for another child at the time of the shooting.
She insisted her son focus on school and basketball, not criminal activity, and urged the community not to accept what she called an unjust arrest and public character assassination.
White posted on social media that she plans to present the video and other evidence to support her claims.
The Carbondale Police Department has not said it arrested the 15‑year‑old; their public statement focused on the two adults charged and on recovering weapons.
The department asked anyone with information about the incident to contact the Carbondale Police Department at (618) 549‑2121.
The family’s allegations raise questions about the officers’ actions and potential racial profiling.
Community members and advocates say they will monitor how the department reviews the detention and whether body‑worn camera or other footage can clarify the timeline.
Police departments commonly review such footage during investigations; the public statement did not specify whether body camera video exists or whether it will be released.
As the investigation continues, the incident underscores tensions that can follow shootings and police responses in small communities.
Residents who witnessed the event or who have information are encouraged to contact authorities so investigators can piece together what happened before, during and after the gunfire.
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