Seventeen-year-old Brandon Hendricks was shot and killed on June 28, 2020, in the Morris Heights neighborhood of the Bronx. He had just celebrated his graduation from James Monroe High School and was attending a barbecue on Davidson Avenue when a man fired into the crowd. A stray bullet struck Brandon in the back; he was pronounced dead at a local hospital less than an hour later.

Brandon was a standout point guard, accepted to several colleges and described as a leader on and off the court who had never had trouble with the law. The NYPD arrested 22-year-old Najhim Luke on July 6, 2020; Luke was indicted on second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter, and criminal possession of a weapon. A jury found him guilty of first-degree manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon in January 2024. On April 5, 2024, he was sentenced to 25 years for manslaughter to run concurrently with 15 years for the weapons conviction, followed by five years of post-release supervision.

Brandon’s mother, Eve Hendricks, has been active in speaking out against gun violence since his death.