Joseph Gardner, 20, was killed on April 25, 2018, in Normal, Illinois, during a violent encounter in an apartment building stairwell. Reports say Gardner and another man, Reginald Hart Jr., confronted 17-year-old Christopher Harrison and attempted to rob him of money, drugs, and guns. Both Gardner and Hart were armed when the confrontation escalated and Harrison fired multiple shots; Gardner suffered 13 gunshot wounds and Hart was struck eight times.

Harrison was detained at the scene and told police he acted in self-defense, saying the two assailants had tried to rob and physically assault him. Investigators later reported finding more than 190 grams of marijuana, three guns including a stolen AR-15, and evidence of drug dealing in Harrison’s apartment, along with text messages said to show the robbery had been planned.

The deaths drew attention to the drug-related circumstances surrounding the encounter and the extreme violence that followed. Did anyone in the Normal area know Joseph Gardner or have information about his activities in the weeks before April 25, 2018?