On the evening of October 4, 2018, 15-year-old Rasul Benson, a Black male, was at a Gulf gas station at 25th Street and Passyunk Avenue in South Philadelphia with two friends. The teenagers were pumping gas for tips when a white sedan pulled into the station, a person from the car chased one of Benson’s friends through the parking lot, and a second individual fired a gun from the backseat. At least 16 shots were fired; all three boys were struck. Rasul Benson was hit in the chest and taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. His two friends survived their wounds.

Investigators determined the shooting was not random but tied to a violent feud among rival street groups from the 31st Street, 27th Street, and Wilson Park areas. Benson was not a member of those groups but was friends with people who were, and appears to have been an unintended victim caught in crossfire. For more than a year the case remained unsolved.

If anyone has information about what happened that night or knew Rasul, please come forward and share what you know.