On the evening of May 30, 2005, 17-year-old Andre Belton was shot while visiting relatives in the Sursum Corda housing complex in Northwest Washington, D.C. He had been standing with friends near an ice cream truck around 8:50 p.m. when a van pulled up, and a man in black reportedly emerged from the vehicle’s sliding door and opened fire on the group. Andre and a 15-year-old friend were both struck; the teens ran a short distance before collapsing and were taken to Howard University Hospital. Andre died shortly after arrival; the younger victim survived and was treated and released.

The Metropolitan Police Department investigated possible motives including a dispute linked to a go-go club and a potential drug-related connection, though some neighbors said neither victim had been at the clubs. Police searched for two suspects who had been in the van and hoped the surviving victim would cooperate, but he reportedly did not. A reward was offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction, and the case remains unsolved.

Does anyone who lived in Sursum Corda or the surrounding neighborhoods that night have information that could help identify the van or the shooters?