In the early morning hours of April 29, 2017, the life of 19-year-old Amaru Amir Santos Johnson, a male resident of Germantown, Maryland, was tragically cut short. The events that led to his death began to unfold shortly after midnight in the parking lot of a townhouse complex on Kitchen House Way. Two men, later identified as Eric Anthony Lee and Furl John Williams, allegedly committed an armed robbery, holding two individuals at gunpoint.
The victims of the robbery fled to a nearby home and called for help. Amaru, along with two other people, responded to the call for assistance and were standing outside the residence when Lee and Williams arrived.
Upon their arrival, one of the suspects immediately opened fire, striking one person in the leg. As chaos erupted, Amaru and another individual tried to seek refuge inside the townhouse, but the gunman followed them, continuing to shoot. Inside the home, Amaru was struck by gunfire. A fourth person was also shot within the residence. Emergency services were called to the scene around 12:55 a.m., where they found four victims with gunshot wounds. All four were transported to local hospitals, but Amaru succumbed to his injuries. The other three victims, one male and two females, sustained non-life-threatening injuries. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner later ruled Amaru's death a homicide by gunshot wound.
The investigation into the shooting led Montgomery County Police to identify 23-year-old Eric Anthony Lee of Clarksburg and 24-year-old Furl John Williams of Fort Washington as the primary suspects. It was determined that the incident was not a random act of violence, as Lee was known to several of the victims. On May 4, 2017, Eric Anthony Lee was located and arrested in Westminster, Maryland. A few days later, on May 9, Furl John Williams was also taken into custody. Both men were subsequently charged with first-degree murder and home invasion for their roles in the death of Amaru Amir Santos Johnson and the shooting of the three other victims. They were both held without bond.
