On the evening of July 17, 2023, 44-year-old Robert Lavender was shot in the head while sitting on a bench in the 600 block of Monroe Street, Northeast, Washington, D.C., after finishing a shift as manager of the BGR Burgers Grilled Right near Catholic University. The attack began when two individuals approached Lavender and attempted to rob him; the violent encounter lasted roughly thirty seconds to a minute. Emergency responders took him to a local hospital, where he died of his injuries.

Surveillance footage later showed two people approaching Lavender and then fleeing; authorities said one of those people was 18-year-old Jaleil Jones of Northwest, D.C. Jones was arrested on September 1, 2023, and indicted on conspiracy, first-degree murder while armed robbery, and firearm-possession charges. In July 2024 Jones pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter while armed under a plea agreement. The second individual involved has not been publicly identified and the Metropolitan Police Department has continued to seek help in locating that person.

Did anyone in the area that night see the two suspects or remember anything about their movements before or after the shooting?