Vernardo Jones Jr, a 14-year-old African American boy, was killed on July 4, 2020, in the Englewood neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side. He was attending a large street gathering when, at around 11:35 p.m., four males approached the crowd and began shooting. Vernardo was struck in the back and later pronounced dead at Comer Children’s Hospital.

Three other males also died in the attack: Ernest Franklin, 30, Cartier Tivon Warner, 26, and Andre Parnell Osborne, 53. Several others were wounded, including an 11-year-old with a graze wound to the ankle and a 15-year-old with a gunshot wound to the abdomen. The suspects fled and no arrests have been made; the FBI has designated Vernardo’s murder as the first major Chicago case targeted by Operation Legend and a $25,000 reward has been offered for information leading to identification and arrest of the suspects.

Anyone with information about what happened that night is asked to come forward.