On the early evening of September 12, 2020, gunfire erupted on 78th Street near 12th Avenue in Dyker Heights. Arfan Butt, 33, described in Urdu-language community reporting as Pakistani, was found bleeding beside his BMW after witnesses initially thought the sounds were fireworks. Police were called around 5:20–5:30 p.m.; Butt was shot multiple times in the torso, taken to Maimonides Medical Center, and did not survive.

Investigators say the attack began inside the vehicle. Butt had been in the backseat with others when one backseat occupant allegedly exited and a second backseat occupant shot Butt several times before both ran to a waiting gold four-door Mercedes-Benz driven by a third person. Security footage reportedly captured that Mercedes westbound on the Verrazzano Bridge. Police released clothing descriptions for three suspects but had not announced any arrests or a motive in the reports through November 2020.

Did anyone in the Dyker Heights area see the gold Mercedes or the people described that evening?