Who is Khalil Harris from The Hate You Give?

Khalil and Starr have been friends since they were small children. They were close childhood friends, along with another girl, Natasha, who was killed by a stray bullet when they were ten. Over time, Starr and Khalil drifted apart, until they met the night of Big D's party in the novel's opening. When Khalil offers to drive Starr home, they are pulled over by Officer Cruise on their way. Officer Cruise shoots and kills Khalil when Khalil leans into the car to ask Starr if she is okay. After Khalil's death, he becomes a martyr figure to the enraged community of Garden Heights, who protest his death with increasingly violent demonstrations.