Burgeoning producer Kevin Robert Harris II — who went by Track Bully on Twitter — was just 21 years old when his life was taken from him in 2009. Eleven years later, authorities are still trying to solve his murder — and the FBI is asking for help.
According to a recent episode of 48 Hours Suspicion: “The Ambush of Kevin Harris,” Harris knew it was coming. On the morning of his death, September 20, 2009, he told his mother, “Everything’s just happening so fast. I feel like something’s going to happen.” And unfortunately, his premonition came true later that evening.
While sitting in his car outside of a music studio in Inglewood, California, someone opened fire on Harris. In all, 17 shots were fired from two different handguns. Although he was rushed to a nearby hospital, doctors were unable to save him.
But the case soon went cold and now, the FBI is desperate for answers.
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“We really need help from the public,” FBI Special Agent Sean Sterle said. “Anybody who knows anything about this case and what happened to him and what happened that night to come forward…and that’s what our plea is to the public.”
Harris’ father Kevin believes “the clues are absolutely out there, we just need that one piece, that one smoking gun.”
At the time of Harris’ death, his career appeared to be taking shape. He’d just sold a beat to Ice Cube, Rihanna and Brittany Spears were interested in his music and he was on the verge of releasing a new single and video that was bound to be a local hit. But his future would never be realized. Harris’ parents remain determined to find out who’s responsible for their son’s death.
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“I have nothing else to do with the grief that I feel every day but to be motivated by it when I walk out the door each day,” his father said. “Let’s kick some doors in, let’s stay relentless with this. So, I can lay my son’s soul to rest, properly … His mother and I will make sure his passion dream lives on.”
His mother Kathryn added, “You can’t hide from God. You can hide here on earth, duck and dodge, go to another state, go to another continent, whatever but you can’t hide from God.”
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With the FBI’s assistance — which includes funding billboards to help get new information and a $50,000 reward — the Harris family is optimistic their son’s murder will be solved. They agreed to talk with 48 Hours in hopes they can “finally bring justice for their son.”
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As for solving the case, Sterle is confident.
“There’s a ton of circumstantial evidence,” he said. “That kind of ends up adding up into one big significant theory … that I think we’re very close to proving. We think we’re 80 to 85 percent there.”
Find the 48 Hours Suspicion: “The Ambush of Kevin Harris” episode here.
