Q: What happened in the case of a man who was killed by a sniper near Blue Diamond while on a walk in the late 1980s? - Anonymous, Sacramento
A: The slaying of Stephen McDonald on May 13, 1988 by a sniper's bullet remains unsolved.
McDonald, 32, was killed as he walked with more than 100 co-workers outside their midtown Sacramento employer, Blue Diamond Growers, according to Bee reports.
The sniper left behind few clues: a witness report of a man running from an apartment building in the 1800 block of D Street and five bullet holes in a the bedroom window screen of a second-floor apartment.
Investigators said they believed the shooting was a random attack. One theory was the sniper may have been one of the many transients who frequent the neighborhood on the northern edge of midtown beside the Southern Pacific railroad tracks.
McDonald, who began working full time at Blue Diamond less than six weeks earlier, was strolling with other employees on a fitness walk at about 11:45 a.m. near the company at 18th and C streets when he was shot.
Police released a composite sketch of a man wanted as a witness or suspect in the slaying. The man, who was seen running from the scene after an ambulance arrived, was described as white, 25 to 30 years old, about 5 feet 11 inches tall and 175 pounds.
The man had long, dirty blond hair loosely tied in a ponytail and a clean appearance. He wore a white short-sleeved shirt, tan trousers, a cap, possibly a homemade sun visor and metal-rimmed sunglasses with teardrop-shaped lenses.
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