In the early morning hours of May 18, 2017, the life of 34-year-old Robert Earl Ford III, a Black male from Wilkinsburg, was tragically cut short inside an apartment building in Pittsburgh's East Hills neighborhood. Around 3 a.m., a woman discovered Ford and police were called to the 2300 block of East Hills Drive. When paramedics arrived, they found that Ford had been shot at least once in the stomach and pronounced him dead at the scene.
Pittsburgh Police immediately began investigating the fatal shooting as a homicide. Detectives were on site, combing the area around the apartment building for clues, and the area was cordoned off with police tape. In the initial stages of the investigation, law enforcement worked to develop a description of a possible suspect and urged anyone with information to come forward, emphasizing that tips could be provided anonymously.
Despite the ongoing investigation and pleas to the public for assistance, no arrests have been publicly announced in the years following the death of Robert Earl Ford III. Investigators have not identified a suspect in the case. The case remains a painful and unresolved chapter for the family and friends of Ford, who was lost to gun violence on that spring morning.
