Ramal Kearse

In the early morning hours of August 20, 2023, the bustling nightlife of Syracuse's Armory Square district was shattered by gunfire. Just after 12:00 a.m., police officers stationed in the area heard the shots and rushed to the 400 block of South Clinton Street. There they found Ramal Kearse, a 25-year-old male resident of the city, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. First responders provided immediate life-saving measures before Kearse was transported to Upstate University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Friends and family mourned Kearse, who was the nephew of a deacon at the Well of Hope church.

The Onondaga County District Attorney’s Office quickly framed the incident as a targeted act of gang violence. District Attorney William Fitzpatrick told the public that the shooting was the result of a fight between Kearse and the shooter. He called the killing an "assassination" and alleged that Kearse, a member of the Syracuse 110 gang, was attacked by a rival from the Bricktown gang. Based on physical and video evidence, investigators determined that Kearse had been unarmed when he was shot four times. Police recovered 16 other shell casings from the chaotic scene.

The investigation led to multiple arrests. First, authorities took Israel Pierce into custody, charging him with discharging an illegal firearm and criminal possession of a weapon. The district attorney clarified that Pierce was not involved in the homicide but was believed to be a fellow gang member on Kearse's side of the altercation. The search for the shooter continued for several weeks.

On September 13, 2023, the main suspect in the case, 28-year-old Roy Watson of Syracuse, turned himself in to police without incident. Homicide detectives took him into custody and charged him with second-degree murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. Watson later pleaded guilty in connection with the fatal shooting of Ramal Kearse, bringing the case to a resolution.