In the winter of 1995, a night that began with the youthful anticipation of a party ended in tragedy for 17-year-old Steven Ray Johnson. On January 7th, the young Black male and his friends were in a Denver neighborhood searching for a party they had heard about. Their search led them to a house at 5547 Elkhart Street, where a gathering was indeed taking place.
Upon their arrival, however, they were not welcomed. Instead, they were confronted by the occupants of the home.
The nature of the confrontation is not detailed, but it quickly escalated, causing Johnson and his friends to flee from the residence. As they were being chased from the property, the situation took a fatal turn. One of the occupants of the house produced a firearm and shot at the fleeing teenagers.
Steven Ray Johnson was struck by the gunfire and sustained a fatal wound. The Denver Police Department was called to the scene, and an investigation into the homicide began. The case, however, grew cold over the years, and no arrests have been publicly announced in connection with his death. The identity of the person who shot Johnson remains unknown to the public. The Denver Police Department continues to list this as an unsolved case and encourages anyone with information to come forward.
