Jose Melendez Jr., a decorated Fort Bragg soldier, was gunned down outside a Raleigh apartment complex in the early morning hours of November 29, 2017, and more than nine years later, no arrest has ever been made. Melendez was shot five times while walking to his car after dropping off a friend on Raven Road, left lying in the parking lot until a neighbor came outside to comfort him as paramedics raced to the scene.
Melendez had spent that Tuesday evening as the designated driver for friends at the Black Flower Bar off Peace Street in downtown Raleigh, according to Military Times, before driving the group to an apartment complex in the 2200 block of Raven Road. He was on approved leave and due back at base later that same morning. Around 3:20 a.m., a female neighbor called 911 after hearing gunshots and told dispatchers she saw a hooded male suspect running on foot into nearby woods before she went outside to comfort Melendez until first responders arrived, per the same account. He was transported to WakeMed hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
According to CBS 17, Melendez was shot five times, and investigators with the Raleigh Police Department found his work bag and Army boots untouched at the scene — details that have fed a persistent theory within his own family. Melendez’s relatives believe he may not have been the intended target of the ambush, the station reports. Officers searched surveillance cameras in the area but came up empty, finding nothing that captured the shooting or the shooter’s escape.
A Soldier’s Record of Service
Melendez enlisted in the U.S. Army in 2013 and completed basic combat training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, before serving with the 82nd Airborne Division, according to Military Times. He deployed for nine months to Iraq and Syria in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, then joined the 112th Signal Battalion under the 528th Sustainment Brigade, working as a nodal network systems operator stationed at Fort Bragg. His decorations included the Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Joint Meritorious Unit Award, Army Good Conduct Medal, Parachutist Badge, Global War on Terror Expeditionary Medal, and Marksmanship Qualification Badge, Army Times reported. His family later released photos of him suited up for static-line parachute jumps…