Quadrice Barksdale, a 22-year-old Black/African American man from Wilmington, Delaware, was fatally shot on the night of October 20, 2015. At about 11:03 p.m., Wilmington police were called to the 100 block of Lower Oak Street after gunfire was reported. Officers found Barksdale suffering from gunshot wounds, and the injuries proved fatal. Contemporary reporting described the location as Lower Oak Street, while Wilmington Police now lists the killing among the department’s continuing
cold-case investigations. His death came during an especially violent year in Wilmington; reporting at the time identified Barksdale as the city’s 23rd person killed by gunfire that year, bringing the overall homicide count to 25.
The circumstances described by Barksdale’s family added another layer to what happened that night. His mother, Tilaki Barksdale, later said that Barksdale had been walking home from a cousin’s house when he was shot in the back of the head. Nearly a year after the killing, she said investigators still had not identified the shooter and that police were continuing to seek witnesses who could help explain what happened. Her account suggested that the shooting occurred during what should have been an ordinary walk home, leaving the family without a clear explanation for why Barksdale was targeted or who was responsible. No motive was publicly established in the reporting located for the case.
As the months passed without an arrest, the investigation became part of the larger struggle surrounding unsolved gun violence in Wilmington. By August 2016, Barksdale’s mother was openly expressing dissatisfaction with the lack of progress and emphasizing that investigators still needed people with information to speak. She joined other mothers who had lost children to shootings at a gathering in Helen Chambers Park, where roughly 200 people came together to raise awareness about gun violence. The loss was described not only through the circumstances of the shooting but through everyday memories: Barksdale enjoyed listening to music while showering and would look for monkey bread in the refrigerator when coming home. His nickname was “Wavy,” and his mother discussed creating an organization called WAVE, standing for Warn Against Violence Everywhere, in his memory.
The passage of time did not produce a publicly identified killer. Wilmington Police currently includes Barksdale’s homicide on its Cold Case Unit page and says the investigation remains ongoing, with investigators continuing to ask the public for assistance. The department’s description states that police responded to the shooting at approximately 11:03 p.m., found Barksdale suffering from gunshot injuries, and that Barksdale later succumbed to those injuries. The continued cold-case designation, together with later reporting describing the investigation as unsolved, indicates that authorities have not publicly announced a resolution.
No publicly identified suspect, arrest, criminal charge, trial, or conviction connected specifically to Barksdale’s killing was found in the available reporting or in Wilmington Police’s current cold-case information. There is therefore no named defendant whose prosecution can be traced through the courts in this homicide. Instead, the case remains centered on the unanswered questions present from the beginning: who fired the fatal shot, what prompted the attack, and whether witnesses or others with knowledge of the shooting have information that could finally identify the person responsible. Authorities continue to treat the homicide as an active unsolved investigation and continue to seek information from the public.
