In the early hours of September 10, 2019, shots rang out in the 3000 block of 24th Place SE in Washington, D.C. Officers found 16-year-old Steffen Brathwaite, a ninth-grader at Ballou High School, suffering from gunshot wounds. He was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries and later died. His mother described him as a straight-A student who loved football and dreamed of going to college.

The case stayed unsolved for more than three years until January 6, 2023, when Bernard Eddy, 22, of Suitland, Maryland, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder while armed. Prosecutors said Eddy approached Steffen as he walked to a friend’s house and fired multiple shots from a 9mm handgun, then fled on foot. A 15-second video recovered from Eddy’s phone eight days after the shooting was introduced as evidence reportedly showing him celebrating Steffen’s death; testimony at proceedings also included a claim that the killing was revenge for the earlier death of 15-year-old Gerald Watson.

Did anyone in the neighborhood see Steffen the night he was shot or have information about his movements that evening?