On a sunny afternoon in the Homewood neighborhood of Pittsburgh on October 14, 2008, the sound of a barrage of automatic gunfire shattered the peace. When the shooting stopped, 21-year-old Antwann Jackson of Penn Hills lay bleeding on the sidewalk in the 7100 block of Race Street. He had been shot at least three times, with one fatal wound to the abdomen.
Rushed to UPMC Presbyterian, he was pronounced dead.
Witnesses reported that as many as four assailants in a gray Jeep Cherokee opened fire on Jackson, who was unarmed and may have been riding a bicycle. Despite the number of people on the street at the time, Jackson was the only person hit in the brazen daylight attack. The hail of gunfire was so intense that dozens of shell casings were recovered at the scene, leaving residents who rushed to help shocked and dismayed at the violence that had unfolded.
In the years that followed, the case grew cold, and no arrests were made in connection with the murder of Antwann Jackson. His mother, Sheryl Jackson, continued to grieve the loss of her youngest son, a father who she said had been in and out of the justice system but was trying to turn his life around. Four years after his death, she made a public plea for anyone with information to come forward, as the family sought answers and justice for his unsolved killing. A $10,000 reward was offered, and a billboard was erected at the site of the shooting in the hopes of generating new leads. Despite these efforts, the individuals responsible for the death of Antwann Jackson remained at large.
