On the late morning of February 1, 2022, a stretch of East Harlem in Manhattan went from ordinary to frantic in seconds, as gunfire cracked out near the corner of East 103rd Street and Third Avenue. Davantay Butts, 26, a Black man, was struck multiple times in the chest, and police said he was rushed to Metropolitan Hospital, where he died.
Early accounts described the shooting as happening in broad daylight, prompting a swift 911 response that brought officers and emergency medical
workers running toward the intersection. Investigators said the attacker slipped away before police could catch up, leaving behind a scene of shock on a busy neighborhood corner.
Reports also said a woman who had been walking with him was wounded in the same burst of violence, adding another layer of urgency as the area filled with sirens and questions. While the details of her condition were not emphasized as much as his, the fact that more than one person was hit underscored how exposed the attack was—an assault carried out in public, with bystanders nearby.
Police narratives placed the killing close to where he lived, near the NYCHA Washington Houses, and the proximity gave the story a grim intimacy—violence arriving not in some distant place, but within a block of home. In the immediate aftermath, officials said there were no arrests, and the case hinged on finding the person who fired the shots and disappeared into the neighborhood.
A suspect description circulated in the initial reporting, with police seeking a man described as wearing a black bubble jacket with brown fur, last seen fleeing on foot. Authorities urged anyone with information to contact the NYPD’s tip line, as detectives worked the scene and chased leads in hopes of turning a midday killing into a case with a name, an arrest, and accountability.
