In the early afternoon of a spring day in Camden, New Jersey, the sound of gunfire shattered the ordinary rhythm of the neighborhood. On April 13, 2018, Laron Hornsby, a 24-year-old Black/African American man, found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. Responding to a series of 911 calls and an alert from the city's gunshot-detection system, Camden County police officers rushed to the vicinity of Norris and Everett streets.
There, on the sidewalk in the 1200 block of Everett Street, they discovered Hornsby suffering from a gunshot wound.
Emergency responders acted quickly, transporting him to Cooper University Hospital in a desperate attempt to save his life. Despite the efforts of the medical staff, Hornsby's injuries were too severe. He was pronounced dead approximately three hours after the shooting. His death marked the seventh homicide in the city of Camden that year, a grim statistic for a community grappling with violence.
In the wake of the shooting, an investigation was launched by the Camden County Prosecutor's Office and the Camden County Police Department. Authorities appealed to the public for any information that might lead to the apprehension of those responsible for Hornsby's death. However, the case grew cold, and no immediate arrests were made. To this day, the investigation into the murder of Laron Hornsby remains open, with detectives still seeking the leads that could bring a suspect, or suspects, to justice and provide closure for a grieving family and community.
