Renown Wilson, 55, was shot outside his home in Orange, New Jersey on June 24, 2021, after a man who had known him for years lay in wait. Wilson had previously helped that man, James Height, by letting him stay in his home and assisting him with employment. A disagreement led Height to move to Salisbury, North Carolina, but five months later he is reported to have returned to Orange, waited for Wilson, shot him in the stomach, and then fired again as Wilson tried to flee, grazing his neck. Wilson died of his injuries on July 2, 2021.

The shooter fled to Salisbury after the attack and was later taken into custody there. At the time of the shooting he had been released from a long prison term about a year earlier after serving 25 years for a prior aggravated manslaughter conviction. What details about motive or events leading to the June 24 encounter remain unclear to the public?