In the early morning hours of September 2, 2014, Micheal Jude Sampson, a 55-year-old Black / African American male, was fatally shot in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. The incident occurred around 3:30 a.m. on Empire Boulevard, just hours before the annual West Indian Day Parade was set to begin. Sampson was among a crowd of people when gunfire erupted, striking him and two other individuals.
Emergency services responded to the scene, but Sampson was pronounced dead
from his injuries. The two other victims who were shot were transported to a local hospital and were reported to be in stable condition. The shooting cast a somber shadow over the day's planned festivities, which traditionally draw large crowds to the area.
In the immediate aftermath, an officer with the New York Police Department who witnessed the shooting pursued a suspect from the scene. This chase led to the apprehension of Derek Goodings, who was 26 years old at the time. Goodings, who was reportedly a recent parolee, was subsequently arrested in connection with the fatal shooting.
Following his arrest, Derek Goodings was charged with several serious offenses, including second-degree murder, assault, reckless endangerment, and criminal possession of a weapon. The swift arrest was announced by then-NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton, bringing a suspect into custody shortly after the violent act that took Micheal Jude Sampson's life.
