E-Shawn Amir Berkley, 23, was shot and killed outside the Tropics Bar and Restaurant in Schenectady on September 5, 2021. The shooting occurred about 12:44 a.m. in the parking lot; Berkley was treated at the scene and taken to Ellis Medicine, where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy found a gunshot wound to his left flank caused perforations of the spleen, left kidney, heart, and right lung.

Reports say the violence began after a dispute at a nearby Speedway gas station that spilled over to the nightclub. Berkley had left his mother’s home earlier to buy diapers and food for his infant son; his mother, Monique Kirkley, said he had told her he felt followed by a black car hours before the shooting and believes he was not the intended target. At the time he was awaiting sentencing on a felony hindering prosecution charge and was out on bail.

For years the case remained unsolved and his family pressed for answers. What did readers see or hear that night around the Tropics parking lot that might help explain who was in that black car or who else was involved?