Aaron Lawrence was 21 when he was fatally shot in Chicago’s Chatham neighborhood on November 24, 2020. Around 12:25 a.m. he was standing outside in the 7800 block of South State Street when two males approached and asked if he was selling marijuana. After Lawrence denied it, the men announced a robbery and shot him multiple times. He drove a short distance, crashed in the first block of East 79th Street, and was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy listed a gunshot wound to the torso as the cause of death and the death was ruled a homicide.

Police identified Jamie Richardson, an 18-year-old from Logan Square, as one of the men who confronted Lawrence. Surveillance footage placed Richardson at the scene, and a .40-caliber handgun found in his possession was matched to shell casings from the murder. Richardson was charged with first-degree murder and was being held without bail on multiple charges, including carjacking and an armed robbery in Chicago and Calumet City. The case raises questions about how the two suspects encountered Lawrence that night and what led to the deadly escalation — any readers with information about the incident are asked to come forward.