Derrick Baker, 18, was shot and killed on August 18, 2012, around 12:15 a.m. on the 11500 block of South Wentworth Avenue in the Roseland neighborhood on Chicago’s Far South Side. Police found Baker with a gunshot wound; he was pronounced dead shortly after attempts at medical aid. Reports say he was holding a gun when he was shot, but it is unclear whether he fired it or what role the weapon played in the events that led to his death.

Baker’s killing was one of 506 homicides in Chicago in 2012, a year that saw a sharp rise in violence concentrated on the South and West Sides. Commentators linked the spike to several factors, including unusually warm weather that year, the disbanding of specialized police units that had focused on hot spots, and ongoing gang conflicts. The case underscores the difficulties Chicago faced that year in addressing concentrated, lethal violence in disadvantaged neighborhoods.

If anyone knew Derrick, witnessed the shooting, or has information about what happened that night, please share what you know.