Deon Williams, 32, was shot and killed in the early evening of July 13, 2024, at the Sumner Houses public housing complex in Bedford-Stuyvesant. The shooting occurred around 6:26 p.m. near 68 Marcus Garvey Blvd. Officers found Williams unconscious and unresponsive; he was taken to Kings County Hospital and pronounced dead. Williams lived in the Sumner Houses on nearby Park Avenue and is survived by children and five siblings.

On July 27, 2024, 28-year-old Aaron Granton, another Sumner Houses resident from a different building, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder and two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon; he was ordered held without bail. Authorities later named 24-year-old Damon Gaitor as a person of interest and announced a search for him on August 9, 2024. Police said both men are believed to have been involved; no motive has been released.

Family described Williams as warm and loving; his mother spoke of her grief at his funeral and noted the family has previously lost a son, Andre Avant, to gunfire in 2009. If anyone has information about this shooting or the whereabouts of Damon Gaitor, please share what you know.