YouTube music journalist Zachary Stoner’s death has been marked resolved by police although no charges have been brought up, a new report has revealed. 

Known as ZackTV, the deceased video journalist was known for his gangland reporting which he called, “Hood CNN” and his up-close stories of the lives and deaths of gang members as well as affiliated rappers. Stoner was killed in the early hours of May 30 in Chicago, Illinois.

Police had arrested five suspects between the ages of 19 and 22 between 2018 and 2019 but were later forced to let them go after prosecutors refused to bring charges. The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office refused on account of “inconsistent witnesses” and the lack of evidence. 

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Who was Zachary Stoner?

Zachary Stoner was a journalist who ran the YouTube channel, ZackTV1. He covered the lives of gang members in Chicago as well as those who were gang-affiliated rap artists. 

He was born in Chicago, Illinois on March 25, 1990. He was 28 when he was killed in what is believed to have been a gang-related shooting. 

Prior to his death, Stoner’s YouTube channel had 174,000 subscribers and more than 1,700 videos. It has since grown to 287,00 subscribers. 

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Stoner was last seen at the Clark Street Refuge bar where there had been an ongoing rap battle between Perry Avenue and Goon Town gangsters, factions of the Gangster Disciples. He left the bar shortly after the war of words began to sour. 

Around 1:30 in the morning on May 30, 2018 a minivan pulled up next to Stoner’s SUV and opened fire. The journalist was hit with one bullet going through his shoulder, the other one lodging in his brain. Police arrived five minutes later and transported him to a hospital. Stoner was pronounced dead at 4:20 that morning.