Loved ones on Tuesday pleaded with the public for help solving a 2008 double homicide in South Los Angeles.

They reminded the community that the victims’ killer is still out there.

Clifton Hibbert Jr. was only weeks from graduating from Cal State Northridge when he and his friend, Kenneth Patterson, were fatally shot after returning to another friend’s apartment during a night out on March 20, 2008. They were on spring break at the time, and Hibbert was hoping to get a scholarship for an internship in Washington, D.C.

Hibbert, 22, an aspiring business law attorney, and Patterson, 23, were gunned down outside the building and the unknown assailant got away. The gunman was with a woman, and both were seen running away from the scene.

Hibbert’s mom, Donna Brown, said that 15 years after her son was shot, she still hears about gun violence and that trauma and heartbreak lingers. “This kind of act, homicide, it interrupts a family’s life,” she said Tuesday.

“Toward his last year of school, my son started to buckle down and prepare himself for his future, but all those hopes and dreams were shot down when he was murdered that night,” Brown said in a statement. “The week leading up to his murder, he was promoted to management at his job and purchased a new car independently. I listened and watched my son become a man and was so proud of him. He went out to celebrate and enjoy his life for all his hard work on spring break until he was gunned down.”

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said his office is highlighting the case not only to help generate leads, but to remind the public that there are “hundreds” of other unsolved cases in the region. He hopes to hold more news conferences focused on unsolved murders.

“My heart breaks knowing that this 22-year-old man’s life was taken away from him so soon and what hurts even more is that the person or persons responsible have never been held accountable,” Gascón said. “The legal system has failed Cliff Jr. and so many others like him. We are here today asking the community that if you have witnessed this or any other homicide to please come forward. Your information plays a vital role in the arrest and filing of criminal charges. That information may save a life.”

Anyone with information about this case is asked to call LAPD’s South Bureau Homicide Division at 323-786-5100. Those wishing to remain anonymous should call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.