Matthew D Zavala was a 20-year-old Black/African American from Chicago and a Private First Class in the Illinois Army National Guard. He was balancing college at Harold Washington College with weekend infantry drills and had recently returned from training. Friends and fellow soldiers remembered him as motivated, an expert marksman, and a promising young man expected to serve overseas.

In the early morning of Saturday, February 11, 2012, after stepping off a party bus on the 200 block of North Lorel Avenue in Austin, Zavala was shot in the head about 4:40 a.m. Witnesses described a final burst of gunfire, frantic scene, and friends rushing to him. Police said the attacker was an unidentified gunman who fled, at least briefly into a vehicle that crashed a block away, then on foot; no motive or arrests were announced and the case remained open.

If anyone was in that area that morning or knew Matthew’s movements that night, can you share what you remember?