Raphael Edwards, 27, was shot and killed near Village Drive in Somerset, New Jersey in the late hours of July 7, 2020. Franklin Township officers arrived after 9-1-1 calls reporting gunfire at about 11:52 p.m. and found Edwards with a gunshot wound; he was taken to a trauma center and pronounced dead.

Investigators from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit, Crime Scene Investigations Unit, and the Franklin Township Police Department treated the shooting as an isolated incident while working to determine a motive. Authorities released surveillance video showing two individuals — one with a distinctive walk — and a dark-colored sedan leaving the scene, and offered a reward of up to $2,500 for information leading to an arrest.

By late August 2020 two men were arrested: 28-year-old William Brandon of Somerset and 29-year-old Chris Gardner of New Brunswick, each charged with first-degree murder and related weapons counts; Gardner also faced a first-degree conspiracy to commit murder charge. Investigators say the deadly confrontation grew out of a personal dispute that began with an exchange on Instagram. Did anyone in the community see the videos or recognize the people involved?