Kofi A. Owens was 45 and a longtime technology teacher and coordinator in East Orange, New Jersey when he was killed on the night of August 2 into the early hours of August 3, 2018. He was sitting in his parked car on South 16th Street with his 25-year-old son beside him when an unknown assailant approached and opened fire. Owens was shot multiple times and pronounced dead at the scene about 1:18 a.m.; his son was wounded in the leg and survived.

Colleagues, school officials and community members remember Owens as a dedicated educator who taught coding and STEM subjects and who had worked in the East Orange School District for more than a decade. A candlelight vigil drew several hundred people, and a memorial mural in nearby Newark honors his work with students. Law enforcement said no arrests had been made while investigators sought to determine whether he was targeted or hit in crossfire; Crime Stoppers offered up to a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction.

Does anyone who knew Mr. Owens or who was in the South 16th Street area that night have information that could help bring answers?