On the morning of September 11, 2017, the body of 33-year-old Jafet Robles was found in Szot Park in Chicopee, Massachusetts. He had sustained multiple gunshot wounds and his death was ruled a homicide. Investigators believe he arrived at the park around 9:00 p.m. the previous evening. His car was found with its doors open and his keys, phone, and hat on the ground nearby; some neighbors reported hearing noises they thought were fireworks the night he was killed.

Robles was a Springfield resident and a father of four who was active in the Springfield chapter of Neighbor to Neighbor. Born in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, he was described by colleagues as a committed community organizer and an advocate for criminal justice reform, driven in part by his own earlier experiences with incarceration.

The Chicopee Police Department and the Massachusetts State Police detective unit assigned to the Hampden District Attorney’s Office opened the investigation. No arrests have been announced and the case remains unsolved. If anyone knew Jafet or has information about his movements in Chicopee that night, please come forward.