On December 29, 1999, 19-year-old Melvin Avent was shot and killed at the intersection of Luper and Mullins streets in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.

The case remains unsolved. The Rocky Mount Police Department created a cold case homicide task force in 2019 to review unsolved murders, but progress has been slow; currently one full-time investigator and one part-time retiree are assigned to these cases. The Avent family continues to press for justice, and Andre Avent has publicly said the killer is still walking free. Rewards have been offered for information leading to an arrest, but no arrests have been announced.

Does anyone have information about Melvin, that night, or the area around Luper and Mullins streets that could help bring new leads?