On July 21, 2022, 18-year-old Hispanic male Raymond Chaluisant was shot and killed in the Bronx after an encounter on the Cross Bronx Expressway near Morris Avenue. Chaluisant was a passenger in a car taking part in a social media trend involving toy guns that shoot water-filled gel beads. Shortly after 1 a.m., an off-duty 45-year-old New York City correction officer, later identified as Dion Middleton, was allegedly struck in the back by a pellet from one of those toy bead blasters.

Believing his life was in danger, Middleton — a firearms instructor — fired his service weapon at the vehicle. A single bullet struck Chaluisant in the face. Friends drove him to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead. A toy bead blaster was recovered at the scene. Middleton did not report the shooting immediately and went to work later that morning; he was later arrested and charged with second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter, and second-degree manslaughter.

The prosecution and defense have presented sharply different accounts: the defense says Middleton perceived a genuine threat in a neighborhood with frequent shootings; the prosecution says Middleton’s firearm was the only real weapon and that he intentionally fired at the teenager. Were any readers in that area that night who saw the car or the toy blaster?