On the evening of August 21, 2019, a dispute in Pontiac, Michigan escalated into gunfire that killed 20-year-old college student Giovanni Smith. After an initial physical altercation, Gregory Carlos Boswell went into his home and reemerged with a gun, then fired multiple shots. Smith was struck in the face and killed; two other men, Benjamen Baso and Tyler Davis, were wounded.

Witnesses later told the court that no one else at the scene was armed or charging at Boswell when he opened fire. Boswell claimed self-defense at trial, saying he believed he faced imminent danger, but a jury rejected that account. He was convicted of second-degree murder for Giovanni Smith’s death, guilty on two counts of assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder for the other men’s injuries, and on three felony-firearm counts, and received lengthy concurrent sentences plus consecutive two-year terms for the firearm convictions.

Giovanni is remembered as kind, loving, and free-spirited and was loved by everyone who knew him. If anyone has information about the events that night or knew Giovanni, please share what you know.