Shortly after 6:39 a.m. on July 23, 2025, deputies responded to reports of gunfire at an apartment in the 1900 block of Erin Drive in Needles. First responders found four people shot inside. William Garhartt, 52, of Needles, was pronounced dead at the scene; coroner records list the apartment as the home of a friend of William Garhartt, 52. Three others survived — a 23-year-old man and two women, ages 21 and 22 — and were taken to hospitals for treatment.

Early statements offered no motive and officials did not immediately disclose the survivors’ conditions or identities. Investigators described the scene as a morning attack just after daybreak and homicide detectives took over the case. Investigators later named a suspect and pursued a weeks-long search that focused on the area around the Colorado River near the Arizona border.

Does anyone have information about William Garhartt, the Erin Drive apartment, or the events of that morning?