In the pre-dawn hours of February 17, 2010, Brockton police found 32-year-old Uel Rodrigues shot multiple times in the driveway of a two-family home at 127 Nilsson Street. Rodrigues, a Cape Verdean who ran a transportation company and was described by family as an early riser, did not live at that address; why he was there before dawn was not explained in reports.

His death was the fifth homicide in Brockton that year and the third on Nilsson Street in under a month. The Plymouth County District Attorney described a recent pattern of targeted killings believed to be carried out by a small group, but authorities did not announce any specific connection between Rodrigues and his killer or killers, and no suspects have been publicly identified.

Anyone with information about Rodrigues, his movements that morning, or the events at 127 Nilsson Street is asked to come forward.