In the cool autumn air of a Brooklyn morning, tragedy struck a family already steeped in grief. Daishawn Benjamin, a 33-year-old Black / African American man, was fatally shot in front of a Brownsville deli on October 27, 2021. The brazen attack occurred around 8:30 a.m. when a gunman emerged from a dark-colored sedan and opened fire, striking Benjamin in the chest and arm before quickly fleeing the scene.
Daishawn was rushed to Brookdale University Hospital, but his injuries proved to be fatal. A hardworking father of two young daughters, he had been employed at both the Barclays Center and Kennedy Airport.
This senseless act of violence was the second tragedy to befall the Benjamin family in a matter of weeks. On October 3, 2021, Daishawn's younger brother, Kizer Williams, was also shot and killed in what was described as a gang-related attack at the Seth Low Houses on Powell Street, not far from where Daishawn would later lose his life. While law enforcement believed the brothers' deaths were connected to gang violence, their family has maintained that neither Daishawn nor Kizer had any gang affiliations. They described Daishawn as a man focused on providing for his children.
In the months that followed Daishawn Benjamin's death, the New York Police Department's violent felony squad worked to bring his killer to justice. Their investigation led them to 48-year-old Waajid Pierce of Bushwick. Pierce was apprehended at MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma, Long Island, as he returned from a trip to Florida. He was subsequently arrested and charged with murder in connection with Daishawn's shooting. Following his arrest, Pierce was held at Rikers Island to await his next court date, bringing a measure of relief to a family devastated by the compounded loss of two beloved members. The investigation into the broader circumstances surrounding the tragic deaths of the two brothers continues.
