Huey Percy Newton, co-founder of the Black Panther Party, was shot and killed in Oakland, California, on August 22, 1989. He was 47 years old and was gunned down in the early hours in front of 1456 9th Street, near Center Street in the Prescott section, after leaving a drug den in a neighborhood where he had once organized social programs. Reports say Newton was shot twice in the face; his last reported words were that his soul would live forever.

Tyrone Robinson, identified as a member of the Black Guerrilla Family and a drug dealer, was quickly named a suspect, arrested, and admitted to the killing while claiming self-defense. The police found no evidence to support that claim. The case noted longstanding strain between the Black Panther Party and the Black Guerrilla Family. Robinson was convicted of Newton’s murder in 1991 and sentenced to 32 years to life.