Don Gladden, 28, was found shot to death in the driver’s seat of a 2001 minivan parked on the 700 block of East Rittenhouse Street in East Germantown, Philadelphia. Officers discovered he had been shot twice in the stomach and once in the head; the vehicle had reportedly been sitting on a quiet residential block near a recreation center and residents gave conflicting accounts about how long it had been there before police found the body on January 4, 2011.

Residents said the discovery shocked a neighborhood unaccustomed to that level of violence and noted Gladden’s killing was one of three murders in East Germantown within a month, prompting increased patrols. No suspects or clear motive have been identified; some neighbors speculated the crime might be drug-related, but police have not confirmed that theory. Neighbors continue to urge anyone with information to come forward to help bring justice for Don Gladden.