Friends of Marshawn Clinkscales, an African-American teenager, remember him as a "good friend" who was "so chilled." Known to his loved ones as "1 Mari" or "2 Mari Montana," the 17-year-old had attended several schools in his community, including CVS, Epic, and Bouchet. His life, full of potential and nascent friendships, was extinguished on the first day of June 2016, a year that would become one of the most violent in Chicago's recent history.
The afternoon of Wednesday, June 1, 2016, was drawing to a close when violence erupted in the South Shore neighborhood. At approximately 5 p.m., Marshawn was found unresponsive on the street in the 7500 block of South Coles Avenue. He had sustained a catastrophic gunshot wound to his head. Emergency services were dispatched to the scene, and the gravely injured teenager was rushed to Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Despite the efforts of medical staff, he was pronounced dead at 5:40 p.m.
The Chicago Police Department launched a homicide investigation into Marshawn's death. Officers from Area Central were tasked with piecing together the events that led to the fatal shooting. However, the initial response yielded few public leads. In the days and weeks that followed, authorities did not release any description of a suspect or persons of interest, and no arrests were made in connection with the murder. The case quickly went cold, leaving a family to grieve without answers and a community to grapple with another young life lost to gunfire.
Marshawn's death was one of many that year, contributing to a grim tally of over 760 homicides in Chicago in 2016. The South Shore neighborhood, like many others on the city's South and West sides, was disproportionately affected by the surge in violence. The area where Marshawn was killed is a residential community, a mix of apartment buildings and single-family homes, just a few blocks from the Lake Michigan shoreline. That evening, it became another crime scene in a city struggling to contain a public safety crisis.
The investigation into Marshawn Clinkscales' murder remains open but unsolved. With no publicly identified suspects or motives, the case has faded from the headlines, but the pain of his loss endures for those who knew and loved him. There have been no announced rewards for information, and the trail for detectives has grown cold over the years.
As of the latest available information, no one has been held accountable for the murder of Marshawn Clinkscales. His case is one of many unsolved homicides from that violent year in Chicago, a statistic that represents a profound and lasting tragedy for a family and a community. The Chicago Police Department continues to hold the case file, awaiting any new information that might lead to a breakthrough and finally bring a measure of justice for the "chilled" teenager whose life was so abruptly taken.
