Voltaire Phillips, 31, was shot and killed in Oakland, California, on November 25, 2009. His death was recorded among the city’s 104 homicides that year, a period when Oakland was experiencing high levels of gun violence concentrated in neighborhoods such as East and West Oakland. The motive in Phillips’ killing was not stated, and his death became another instance of the many cases that left families without answers.

Oakland’s clearance rate for homicides then was roughly 42 percent, meaning more than half of killings remained unsolved; that environment contributed to frustration among victims’ relatives and community advocates. Broad efforts — including police reassignments and community-driven violence-prevention initiatives — were underway but produced uneven results and occasional spikes in killings. If anyone knew Voltaire Phillips or has information that could shed light on what happened that day, please share what you know.