On the night of October 25, 2024, gunfire was reported on the 300 block of Madison Avenue in Woodbine, New Jersey. New Jersey State Police found 22-year-old Daquann Smith of Whitesboro with fatal gunshot wounds; he was pronounced dead at the scene. Smith was a Black male.

The Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office and the New Jersey State Police opened a joint homicide investigation, gathering evidence and interviewing witnesses. The community held a candlelight vigil and balloon release at the Martin Luther King Center in Whitesboro, and a GoFundMe was set up to help the family with funeral costs.

In early November, authorities arrested 34-year-old Hakeem Denby of Vineland and charged him with first-degree murder and multiple weapons offenses; he was being held at the Cape May County Justice Facility pending a detention hearing. Denby was on parole at the time, having been released from Bayside State Prison in June of the previous year after serving part of a sentence on a gun charge.

If anyone witnessed the shooting or has information about Daquann Smith’s death, please share what is known.