Sterling Derrell Blackmon was the only child born to his mother, Trenice Blackmon. He was one of three children born to his father, Sterling Calvin. Not much else can be found about his life, as he was only 20 years old, but he had a lot of family and friends who loved him.

On a Saturday evening on 12/20/2014, Sterling's mom, Ms. Trenice, dropped him off at work before heading to a Christmas party. He worked at Rally's in the Algiers neighborhood at 3555 General DeGaulle in New Orleans, Louisiana. His mom told him to call or text her when he was getting off work since he didn't have a set time, but she would never hear from Sterling again. Instead, she received numerous texts and phone calls from family and friends telling her that Sterling had been shot at the apartments directly behind Rally's.

Around 11 pm, authorities responded to the Garden Oaks Apartments located at 3200 Garden Oaks Drive. Upon arrival, they found Sterling lying on the sidewalk outside the apartments. He had been shot multiple times and was pronounced dead at the scene. Ms. Trenice rushed to meet family and friends at the Garden Oaks Apartments. But, when asked to identify his body, she was too distraught, so a family member made the confirmation for her. Sterling wasn't the only person shot that night. They also found a 24-year-old male who had been shot and was rushed to the hospital. Although he survived the shooting, he would not cooperate with authorities or say anything about what happened that fateful night. Even though the shooting occurred in a visible area with several witnesses and cameras, no one would talk.

Investigators are looking for a possible male suspect who may be connected to the crime that goes by the nickname of "Gunner." Ryan Aucoin with the NOPD stated, "Just get us that information, and you can remain anonymous. We can't do anything without information, and that's what we need."