Willie Cunnings, 34, was fatally shot on January 2, 2012, in Chicago, Illinois. His death occurred during a year that saw a marked rise in the city’s homicides, a surge that contributors in 2012 linked to changes in police strategies, unusually warm early-year weather, and longstanding problems with gang activity and concentrated economic hardship on the South and West sides.

The case sits within a pattern of firearm-related homicides that made up the majority of murders in Chicago at the time and helped push the city to a total of 506 homicides for the year. Investigators and commentators pointed to the disbanding of specialized police units and community mistrust of police as factors complicating efforts to reduce violence; the city’s low homicide clearance rate and witnesses’ reluctance to come forward were noted obstacles in many cases.

Did anyone in the Chicago area have information about Willie Cunnings or the circumstances of the January 2 shooting?