On July 26, 2024, at about 2:24 a.m., officers responded to a report of a shooting at the Hillcrest Apartments on Atkinson Street in Asheville and found 31-year-old Denzel McKnight with a gunshot wound to the abdomen. McKnight was taken to Mission Hospital and died shortly after arrival. Investigators recovered seven shell casings at the scene; those casings suggested a 9-mm handgun though ballistics testing was pending.

Two apartments and a Chrysler vehicle were struck by bullets or ricochet, but no one else was reported injured. Witnesses described the shooter as a Black male in his early 30s wearing black jeans and a white shirt, yet no arrest has been made and the suspect remains unidentified. McKnight was remembered by family and friends as a young entrepreneur in the local cleaning business; a public viewing was held.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Asheville Police Department — did anyone see or hear anything that night at Hillcrest Apartments?