On the late afternoon of September 14, 2013, NaQuese McCollum, a 16-year-old Black male from Newark and a junior at West Side High School, was shot and killed inside a parked vehicle near South 10th Street and 15th Avenue. His 23-year-old cousin, Damien Matteaux, was killed alongside him. The cousins had been on their way to pick up Matteaux’s girlfriend in nearby Union when the shooting occurred.

Investigators believed Matteaux may have been the intended target, but no clear motive was established. The killings were recorded as Newark’s 63rd and 64th homicides that year. The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office and the Newark Police Department opened an investigation, but initial reports said no suspects had been identified and no arrests were made.

Does anyone have information about that afternoon or about either young man that could help bring answers to the family?