On the evening of May 14, 2026, in Rochester’s Essex Park neighborhood, 31-year-old Carlton Gardner was fatally shot outside an apartment building in the 900 block of 41st Street Northwest. Officers found Gardner with a gunshot wound to his neck around 5:15 p.m.; he was taken to the Mayo Clinic and pronounced dead shortly after 6 p.m. Investigators described the shooting as not random.

Police arrested 34-year-old Derrell Sheldon Williams the next morning, May 15, 2026, at a local motel and charged him with multiple felonies, including second-degree murder with intent, second-degree murder without intent while committing a felony, second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, and illegal possession of a firearm. Court documents recount prior conflicts between Williams and Gardner, including a physical altercation the night before, rivalry over a romantic partner, and an allegation that Williams put sugar in Gardner’s semi-truck gas tank. Witnesses said Williams approached Gardner, Gardner raised a hand in a defensive gesture, and Williams fired a single shot. Williams told detectives he fired at the ground to deter Gardner, said he did not know Gardner had been struck until hours later, and admitted dismantling the gun and throwing it into a river.

Does anyone in Rochester have information about Gardner, the confrontation that led to the shooting, or where the weapon might have been discarded?