CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- This Fourth of July will mark 10 years since seven-year-old Brendon Mackey was killed in Brandermill's Sunday Park by what police believe was celebratory gunfire.
One of the first officers to respond to the scene that night said they were still hoping to solve the case.
Chesterfield Police Capt. Randy Horowitz, then a lieutenant, said he had just finished working the county's fireworks show and had gotten home when he got the call.
Mackey had been hit by a bullet while walking to Brandermill's fireworks show.
"I remember getting a phone call, going out to the scene, and just being amazed," said Horowitz. "We met with the family, we told him that we were going do everything we could bring this case to a close and we're still working on that."
Horowitz said the case was kept active for about three years as police exhausted leads, including canvassing around 1,800 homes in the roughly one-mile radius where they believe the shot could have been fired.
"It's disappointing that we weren't able to bring it to a close already. But, you can't let it disappoint you. You just got to keep on working," he said. "Every time we get any information, we assign it and it continues to be investigated. And we're hopeful that one day we'll be able to close the case and bring some closure to the family and the community."
VCU policing expert Dr. William Pelfrey said because of the number of guns in the United States and not having shot-locating technology set up in that area, pinpointing a more exact area of where the shot could have come from is impossible.
"In a suburban setting like this, it really comes down to who heard what and how you can triangulate based on witnesses, and a lot of people are going to be out on holidays like July 4, so you'll get a lot of different reports," said Pelfrey.
Now in the hands of the cold case detectives, Horowitz said while they still have not found a shooter, they have determined it was a .40-caliber bullet and the handgun used was likely made by Glock, Heckler & Koch, IMI, Kahr Arms, or Vektor Pistols.
He added that some firearms were turned in as part of the investigation and any firearms that are seized in other cases are tested against the bullet that killed Mackey. But so far no matches have been made.
"We still retain some forensic evidence that we hope one day will be helpful in identifying and prosecuting somebody. But, unless we get some more information, there's really not a whole lot more we can do based on just what we've already received."
He said police continue to get tips and each is investigated.
"Typically comes in this time of the year and we'll get a couple of tips, whether it's something that someone recalls from back or often it's someone has a Fourth of July party and they hear something that somebody says and it makes them think who they might know something," Horowitz, who added police always welcome more tips and that no bit of information is too small, said. "If it sparks your interest, it's going to spark our interest."
Meanwhile, as the Fourth of July holiday approaches, Horowitz asked gun owners to celebrate responsibly and not fire their guns into the air.
"If you are going to fire a gun, you got to know where you're firing at, what's beyond that target. What's above it, what's below," he said. "So, if you shoot it into the air, gravity is going to bring it back down. If you don't know where it's going to go, it could hurt somebody and that's the last thing we want."
If you have any information about Mackey's case, you are asked to reach out to Crime Solvers.
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