As they mark the sombre sixth anniversary of his murder, the parents of Jonathan Reader say they may know who is responsible for the teen's death.

"Through persistent and consistent information through the community over time, we now believe we know who's responsible for our son's death," says father David Reader. "We believe he was killed by a youth gang."

Reader went to the Pacifico Bar and Grill – a popular dance club in downtown Halifax – with some friends on August 7 in 2005.

Video surveillance shows Reader leaving with an unidentified girl around 2 a.m. He was then seen buying a snack at a gas station just before 3:30 a.m.

Less than an hour later, he was found unconscious on the roadway at Radcliffe Drive and Dunbrack Street, only a few minutes from his home.

Reader was rushed to hospital where he died a short time later. Police have ruled his death a homicide.

"He was stolen from us," says his mother, Linda Reader. "We're never going to take that lightly."

Police have never solved the case, but Reader's parents say multiple sources have come forward over the years – all pointing to the same youth gang.

"We're convinced that this is how it all happened, you know," says David Reader. "We don't go into this lightly or say it lightly; we wouldn't be saying it if we didn't fully believe it."

A police spokesperson says there was a gang in the area at the time and they were known to police.

"There was group of youth that were more active in the area," says Const. Brian Palmeter of the Halifax Regional Police. "They refer to themselves as the Murder Squad – they'd be considered a youth gang of sorts."

Police say they don't believe the gang is still together, although a few of its members may still be around.

"We have focused part of our investigation on them," says Palmeter. "We haven't ruled them out as suspects and we'll continue to investigate until we're able to lay charges."

In the meantime, both the police and Reader's family hope more people will come forward with information that will help solve the case.

"We have a sentence," says Linda Reader. "We have to live with this for the rest of our lives and we're missing Jon, so to have the community come forward is healing."

With files from CTV Atlantic's Jacqueline Foster