CBS3 Mysteries: Chester Police Closing In On Shooter Who Killed 7-Year-Old Sinsir Parker
CHESTER, Pa. (CBS) -- A 7-year-old boy was outside with his friends in Chester when stray gunfire killed him. More than a year later, the murder remains unsolved.
It's a case that haunts the community and the detectives who are working tirelessly to track down the killer.
In the midst of an unprecedented lockdown, the deadly violence never slowed. April 5 was a beautiful day in the Delaware Valley.
People were home with little to do. Detective Victor Heness was working that night for the Chester Police Department.
911 calls went out for a young child who had been shot on a Chester street. It was just after 9 p.m.
"It was actually incredibly warm that night so everybody was outside," Heness said. "Pulled up, there's a lot of people, a lot of people in the surrounding area behind the crime scene tape, lots of detectives, lots of police officers. We cordoned off the area and saw young Sinsir."
Seven-year-old Sinsir Parker was lifeless on the ground. He had been shot once in the face. He died at the scene.
"I just seen him lying there, he had Spider-Man slippers on. That's really what I remember about him. And then obviously the bullet wound to his face, which I'll never forget," Heness said. "In my 21 years, that was one of the worst scenes I've seen. And just the slippers alone really is what kind of haunts me."
Police say the shooter fired from 60 yards away, the bullets whizzing indiscriminately down Swarts Street.
"I was there from the beginning, and then I was there at the end when you know he was laying there," Janice Parker said.
Janice Parker, Sinsir's grandmother, says the loss has been unbelievable and has rocked her family.
"People have no idea what they've done to this family," she said.
Police say they're closing in on their shooter, but need the public's help.
Detectives have specific details on events leading up to the shooting but asked Eyewitness News to not reveal them to avoid jeopardizing the investigation.
For this family, they just want answers.
Chester police would like to hear from you if have information. Their number is 610-447-7931.