On Friday, December 29, 1995, just after 12:40 p.m., gunfire erupted on the 1200 block of 8th Street Northwest in Washington, DC, and Aaron Ernie Black was struck and fatally wounded on the street. Emergency personnel responded, but Black did not survive; the Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide Branch formally recorded his death as a homicide.

Detectives later issued a public bulletin and reward flier that named Aaron Ernie Black, gave the exact date, the 1200 block of 8th Street NW and the midday time, and offered up to $25,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction. Despite that reward and ongoing appeals for tips, the case remains unsolved and is listed among the MPD’s major unsolved homicides from the 1991–2000 period.

Key questions about who fired the shots and why have not been answered, and no suspect has been publicly identified or charged. If anyone has information about the shooting on 8th Street NW that day, please contact the Metropolitan Police Department or submit an anonymous tip.