Aaron Gordon was 21 when he was shot and killed on July 4, 2017, at the Riverside Village Apartment complex on Chicago’s Far South Side. He was sitting in his car with his girlfriend, her children, and another friend, watching fireworks when Sean Liggett, 26, reportedly approached a nearby vehicle and began an argument that escalated into gunfire. Liggett fired seven shots at the car; one bullet struck Aaron in the head as he tried to shield his girlfriend. Aaron was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he later died.

Multiple witnesses identified Liggett as the shooter. A search of his grandmother’s apartment turned up a Crown Royal bag containing 47 .45-caliber bullets, which reportedly matched shell casings found at the scene. Liggett was arrested and charged with murder and held without bond after a bond hearing before Judge James Brown, with the prosecution represented by Assistant State’s Attorney Joseph Carlson.

Aaron’s death left family and community members grieving.