In the early morning hours of May 11, 1994, the life of 20-year-old Tyrone Marquette Hayes was tragically cut short in a burst of gunfire. Hayes, a male, was in his bedroom in the 5800 block of NE Killingsworth Street in Portland, Oregon, sharing a conversation with his girlfriend at approximately 1:20 a.m. when the sound of shots suddenly rang out from the street below.
As he stood up, a bullet struck him in the head.
Emergency services were immediately called, and upon arrival, police discovered numerous bullet strikes on the exterior of the residence. Two vehicles parked in front of the house also bore the telltale signs of the drive-by shooting. Inside, Hayes's girlfriend and his mother, who had been asleep in another bedroom, were physically unharmed but left to grapple with the shocking violence that had invaded their home. Hayes was rushed to a local hospital where he underwent surgery, but his condition remained critical. He later succumbed to the severe head wound.
Investigators believe the shots were fired from a vehicle that was passing by the residence. Some neighbors reported seeing a dark blue or black car leaving the area in a hurry shortly after the shooting. However, law enforcement officials have not been able to definitively link this vehicle or its occupants to the murder of Tyrone Hayes.
To this day, the case remains unsolved, with no arrests made and no suspects publicly identified. The investigation into the death of Tyrone Hayes is ongoing and is now considered a cold case. Authorities continue to appeal to the public for any information that might lead to a breakthrough and bring closure to the family of the young man whose life was taken so unexpectedly on that spring night.
