In the early morning hours of August 13, 2016, Raekwon Epps, a 20-year-old male, was enjoying a late summer night with friends in his Pittsburgh neighborhood of Homewood. As he sat in a chair in the 800 block of Brushton Avenue, a calm gathering was shattered by the sound of gunfire. An unknown individual approached Epps and shot him multiple times before fleeing the scene. Paramedics arrived to a grim discovery and pronounced him dead right there in the chair he had been sitting in.
The young man, who had aspirations of becoming a rapper, was taken long before he could realize his dreams.
The investigation into Epps's death quickly focused on his connection to the local rap scene. Detectives began exploring the possibility that his murder was retaliatory, sparked by a rap video he had appeared in that was released just hours before the shooting. In the world of hip-hop, this type of video is often referred to as a 'diss' track, meant to insult or challenge a rival. This potential motive, however, did not lead to any immediate suspects or arrests, leaving Epps’s family and the community searching for answers. The case grew cold, a painful reality for a family left to grieve without the solace of justice.
Years have passed since Raekwon Epps was killed, and his case remains unsolved. Despite the presence of several witnesses on that fateful night, a wall of silence has met the pleas of both the police and Epps’s heartbroken mother, Lisa Epps. She has repeatedly and publicly begged for anyone with information to come forward, to offer some semblance of peace to a family torn apart by violence. The Pittsburgh Police have echoed these calls, periodically reminding the public of the unsolved homicide and the reward offered for information leading to an arrest. To this day, no suspects have been publicly identified, no arrests have been made, and the person or people responsible for the death of Raekwon Epps remain at large.
