On a Tuesday night in August 2021 an 18-year-old Orthodox Jewish student, Shmuel Silverberg, was shot outside Yeshiva Toras Chaim Talmudical Seminary in west Denver. Silverberg, who was from the Cleveland area, staggered back into the school after being wounded; fellow students tried to render aid before he was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead. Police described the attack as part of a larger, multi-location crime spree that began earlier that evening and included a carjacking and an armed robbery in which another man was shot and critically injured.

Investigators said the encounter at the yeshiva appeared to be a random act of violence and that evidence did not indicate a bias-motivated hate crime. Within days Denver investigators identified and arrested five young men: Isaiah Freeman, 18; Seth Larhode, 21; Aden Sides, 18; Noah Loepp-Hall, 19; and 19-year-old Samuel Fussell, who was taken into custody about 60 miles from Denver. The suspects were charged with crimes including first-degree murder, assault, and auto theft.

If anyone knew Shmuel or has information about that night, please share what you know.