A sidewalk dispute in Yonkers turned fatal in the early hours of Monday, August 11, 2025. Just before 12:30 a.m., police responded to a shooting near 30 Cliff Street and found 41-year-old James Hardy with a gunshot wound to the chest. He was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead. Hardy was a Black male.

Investigators from the Yonkers Police Major Case Squad and Crime Scene Unit concluded the shooting was not random but the result of a targeted dispute between Hardy and another person. The argument reportedly ended when the suspect fired a single shot into Hardy’s chest and fled. Detectives identified a suspect and, within 12 hours, arrested 28-year-old Xavier Palmer of Yonkers. Palmer was charged with second-degree murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, arraigned, pleaded not guilty and remanded to the Westchester County Jail as the matter moves forward with the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office.

If anyone witnessed the argument near 30 Cliff Street that night or has information about the shooting, please come forward.