In a fresh bid to solve one of San Francisco’s most mystifying cold cases, the FBI has issued new sketches and information nearly nine years after a young man was shot and killed while playing Pokémon Go in Aquatic Park.
In the late evening of August 6, 2016, 20-year-old Calvin Riley, a rising pitching star at San Joaquin Delta College and a graduate of Junipero Serra High School in San Mateo, class of 2015, was playing a Pokémon Go game with a friend outside Ghirardelli Square. Around 9:50 PM, according to witnesses, Riley was hit from behind unexpectedly. His phone and wallet were left intact, which provided evidence to presume that this incident was not a robbery but a planned attack.
Riley’s friend, who had been visiting from Boston, later testified that he witnessed a man get into a car and speed away after the gunshot had echoed. The first responding officers from SFPD and the U.S. Park Police detected no exchange of words, no confrontation between people, just sheer senseless brutality that took away a bright young life.
Initial Investigation and Family Response
Shortly after the shooting, police reconstructed the initial composite sketch of a suspect, a man who had been accompanied by a brunette woman in a car. Authorities also learned of two suspicious cars – a white Hyundai Sonata (approximately 2013) and a dark-colored Audi A3 wagon (2006–2009). Both vehicles were said to come and go from the area together, indicating that they were possibly working together.
By 2017, the Riley family and U.S. Park Police had increased the reward to $110,000, hoping to encourage fresh leads. Sean Riley, Calvin’s father, spoke out publicly in increasing frustration with the investigation, stating the case warranted more priority than was being given by the Park Police.
New FBI Insights
In 2023, federal investigators took over the case officially, and an intense re-examination of remaining clues followed. On June 24, 2025, the FBI revealed a second sketch of another person at the scene – a bald man with glasses and a long beard. He was believed to have been videotaping in the area as the crime was committed.
No drawing has yet been made public of the blonde woman who accompanied her, furthering the necessity for public help in identification. The FBI has now offered a new $25,000 reward for information that may result in arrests.
The Riley family, meanwhile, has conducted vigils and set up online memorials, such as “Justice for Calvin Riley,” to keep the public aware that his killing remains unsolved. Sean Riley, currently living in Boston, has been outspoken in calling for a renewed investigation, saying: “It’s basically torn our family apart… It’s been a nightmare for nine years.”
The FBI emphasizes that even seemingly small details like the color or make of the Audi A3, the Sonata, or who the subjects are in the drawings, may be the tipping point to finally provide closure.