DeAngelo Harkness

Just a week before Christmas, the life of a civically-minded and entrepreneurial Cincinnati teenager was cut short by gunfire. D'Angelo Ja'Ron Harkness, a 16-year-old African American male, was a young man who, despite his age, was already actively working to improve his community and was known for his involvement in local initiatives. He volunteered for a political campaign, took public access TV classes at Media Bridges, and was developing a start-up apparel company called We Fam Unity Wear. He was a frequent guest on a local television show, "One Cincinnati," and regularly attended church.

Tragically, D'Angelo lived with a persistent fear for his life. In August 2005, he had survived a shooting, an event that left him deeply shaken. According to community activist Candace Tubbs, who knew D'Angelo well, the teen was so scared that he lived with her for seven months as a "safe haven." It was suspected that D'Angelo might have been perceived as a witness to an earlier homicide, and that this mistaken belief may have made him a target. Just days before he was killed, he attended a community forum on youth violence and listened to a church sermon about death, which prompted him to ask many questions.

On the evening of Monday, December 18, 2006, D'Angelo was on Park Avenue in his own neighborhood of Walnut Hills when violence found him again. He was shot at 2829 Park Avenue. Two other people were also wounded in the attack but survived their injuries. Emergency services responded, and D'Angelo was rushed to University Hospital. He fought for his life overnight but succumbed to his injuries, passing away the next day, December 19, 2006. His death was recorded as the 81st homicide in Cincinnati that year.

The Cincinnati Police Department launched a homicide investigation, but the case quickly grew cold. In the immediate aftermath, police had made no arrests and did not release any information about potential suspects or a motive. The circumstances surrounding the shooting remained unclear to the public, and despite the fact that there were two other victims, no witnesses came forward publicly with information that would lead to an arrest.

A funeral service for D'Angelo was held the following week at the Shiloh Seventh Day Adventist Church on Washington Avenue, where friends and family gathered to mourn the beloved son of Ebony Harkness. In the years since, his case has remained open but unsolved. It is now featured on the Ohio Attorney General's Unsolved Homicides database, a standing reminder of a young life lost and a family's unanswered questions.

As of today, nearly two decades later, no one has been held accountable for the murder of D'Angelo Harkness. The Cincinnati Police Department continues to classify the case as an active cold case investigation. There is no specific reward information available, but authorities urge anyone with knowledge about the shooting that took D'Angelo's life to come forward. Information can be submitted to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation at 855-224-6446.