On the evening of June 17, 2010, in the 4600 block of Terrace S in Birmingham’s Central Park neighborhood, 19-year-old Rasheed Ali Ward was struck by gunfire while talking with a friend. A car pulled up and shots were fired from what was reported to be an AK-47. Another man, Keith Orlando Hilson, who had been in a verbal altercation with someone in the vehicle moments earlier, was shot multiple times in the face and died at the scene. Rasheed was hit in the abdomen and was taken to UAB Hospital, where he died an hour and five minutes later. A third person with Rasheed was wounded in the arm and hip and survived.

Investigators faced significant obstacles: the surviving wounded victim declined to give a statement, and the woman from whose home Hilson had just exited also did not speak with police. Those gaps hindered identification of suspects. A $20,000 reward was offered for information leading to arrest and conviction, and several families reportedly left the Central Park neighborhood after the shootings. No public announcement of arrests or identified suspects in Rasheed Ward’s killing has been made.

If anyone knew Rasheed, Keith, or was in the Central Park area that night, please share what might help the investigation.