An afternoon spent helping a friend turned tragic for Eric F. Jones, a 46-year-old Black man from Kansas City, Missouri. He was in the middle of an ordinary task on a winter day when his life was abruptly taken by gunfire, leaving behind a case that has since grown cold.
The shooting happened on Thursday, February 17, 2011. Jones was at the corner of 25th and Poplar, assisting a friend with a move. At approximately 5:52 p.m., as evening approached, the neighborhood was disrupted by a drive-by shooting. Jones was caught in the violence and sustained a fatal gunshot wound at the scene.
Kansas City police were dispatched to investigate the homicide. Early reports from the incident were initially unclear, with the victim first described as a man in his 20s. However, investigators soon corrected this information and positively identified the victim as Eric F. Jones.
In the years that have passed, no suspects have ever been publicly identified or arrested in the killing. The murder of Eric Jones remains unsolved, with no new information released since the initial reports in February 2011.