16-year-old shot to death in an alley In the early morning hours of December 31, 2003, the sound of multiple gunshots shattered the pre-dawn quiet in a North Portland neighborhood. Individuals delivering newspapers in the vicinity of N. Missouri Avenue and N. Mason Street heard the alarming sounds around 6:40 a.m. Their routine task took a grim turn when they discovered a gravely wounded teenager in an alley between N. Missouri and N. Michigan Avenue. The victim was 16-year-old Aaron Michael Prasad-King, an African-American male.
He had been shot and was in critical condition.
Emergency services were called, and Aaron was rushed to a nearby hospital. For two days, he fought for his life, but his injuries proved to be too severe. On the morning of January 2, 2004, Aaron Michael Prasad-King succumbed to his wounds and passed away, turning a tragic shooting into a homicide investigation. The community was left reeling from the violent death of a young man with his entire life ahead of him.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, witnesses provided a sliver of a lead to the Portland police. They reported seeing an unidentified individual, clad in dark clothing, running east on N. Shaver across Michigan Avenue shortly after the gunshots were heard. However, this description was vague and did not lead to a quick identification of a suspect. Despite the efforts of the Portland Police Bureau's Cold Case Homicide Unit, no arrests have ever been made in connection with Aaron's murder. The case remains unsolved, a painful open wound for his family and the community, with the identity of the shooter and the motive behind the senseless act of violence remaining a mystery. Authorities continue to ask for the public's help, hoping that someone will come forward with information that could finally bring justice for Aaron.
