Mamadou Makadji was a 22-year-old student from Mali who came to Philadelphia in April 2009 to study English at Temple University. On August 17, 2009, while sitting on a bench with two friends in Elmwood Park at 71st and Buist Avenue around 1:12 a.m., he was confronted by a gunman who announced a robbery. Mamadou, still learning English and speaking French, apparently had trouble understanding the commands. The gunman became agitated, pistol-whipped him and then shot him once in the chest. Mamadou was taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania but died shortly thereafter; his two friends were not harmed.

The assailant fled without taking any valuables, and no arrests were immediately made. The West African community in Philadelphia mourned the loss, and Mamadou’s family expressed disbelief at the senseless violence. Does anyone have information about that night in Elmwood Park or knew Mamadou and his friends?