Moments later, a gunman emerged and fired a shotgun at the 23-year-old, striking him in the chest before fleeing the scene and disappearing into the night.
The murder took place at around 10pm on Wednesday, 12 November 2008, on Callaghan Road in Tividale, Tipton, during what had otherwise been an ordinary weeknight. Nearly two decades on, the killer has never been identified or brought to justice.
Despite extensive investigations, the case remains one of the West Midlands’ most troubling unsolved murders. Early lines of inquiry stalled, and detectives were unable to establish a clear motive for the killing.
Police have taken almost 1,000 witness statements in their efforts to solve the case. Four people were arrested during the investigation, but no one has ever been charged.
The shooting occurred shortly after Scott’s mother, Caron, had been assaulted, a detail that formed part of the original inquiry. However, repeated appeals for information from the public over the years have failed to generate the breakthrough detectives need.
Speaking on the 10th anniversary of her son’s death in 2018, Caron described the enduring pain of losing him.
“Nothing can ever take away the pain of losing Scott, and there is not a day that goes by without him being in our thoughts,” she said.
“He had his life ahead of him, and although I am a grandmother, I often think about whether I would have been a grandmother to his children too.
“Being close to him when it happened, but being so defenceless to stop it, is something that will haunt me forever.”
As the years pass, Scott Buchanan’s family continue to wait for answers and for the person responsible for his death to finally be held accountable.
