'No one should have to bury a child:' Police search for answers in unsolved Thanksgiving Eve murder

Josue Lopez-Ramirez was shot and killed outside his apartment building in an attempted robbery on Thanksgiving Eve in 2019. Now, nearly two years after his death, police are asking for the public's help in identifying Lopez-Ramirez's killers. 

Officers found the 18-year-old Guatemalan immigrant suffering from a gunshot wound at the Willows of Springdale apartment community on Nov. 27, 2019. He was taken to University of Cincinnati Medical Center, where he died of his injuries. 

The night of the shooting, Lopez-Ramirez set out to bring his mother home from work, Springdale police spokesman Keenan Riordan told reporters on Tuesday. As they parked in front of the apartment building, they were blocked in by another vehicle. 

Police believe three or four suspects, all males wearing dark-colored clothes, were involved in the shooting. They also drove a dark-colored vehicle. 

One suspect approached the passenger's side of Lopez-Ramirez's vehicle and attempted to rob his mother, Riordan said, while two or three suspects came up to the driver's side and attempted to rob him. 

A struggle ensued and one of the suspects shot Lopez-Ramirez a single time, though multiple shots were fired, Riordan said. Lopez-Ramirez's mother tended to him at the scene before officers could arrive to render aid. 

"As a parent, no one should have to bury a child," Chief Thomas Wells said during a press conference. Wells said it appeared from the scene that Lopez-Ramirez may have tried to defend his mother in some way.  

So far, investigators have been unable to identify any suspects, despite following several leads over the past two years. 

Detective Molly Norris said physical evidence was recovered from the scene but that evidence has yet to be linked to any person or other crimes. She declined to say what that evidence is citing the ongoing investigation. 

Police are hopeful that someone with knowledge of the incident will come forward given the amount of time that's passed. 

"People who commit crimes, no matter how heinous the crime might be, they're still human beings and they are subject to human emotion," Wells said.

"What we're hoping is and what we're appealing for is that maybe somebody who heard someone speak of this crime, maybe someone that spoke directly about who was involved in it, would come forward and bring closure to this family."

The Springdale Police Department is urging anyone with information regarding the homicide to call Crime Stoppers at 513-352-3040.