In the early morning hours of May 9, 2015, the life of 31-year-old Todd A. Dunlap Jr., a Black male from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was tragically cut short. The incident unfolded at an after-hours nightclub on South 19th Street, where Dunlap was working as a bouncer. A verbal altercation began between John Maurice McDonald III, then 22 years old, and a woman at the club.
The dispute escalated when Dunlap intervened.
McDonald, angered by the situation, first struck Dunlap in the head with a 10mm Glock handgun. As Dunlap turned away, McDonald fired a fatal shot into the back of his head. Emergency personnel arrived to find Dunlap deceased at the scene. He was remembered by friends and family as a hardworking man, a husband, and a father to nine children, five of whom he shared with his wife.
Harrisburg Police quickly identified John Maurice McDonald III as the suspect and considered him armed and dangerous. A manhunt ensued, with Dunlap's widow making a public plea for any information that would lead to his capture. Friends and community members held a vigil to honor Dunlap's memory and to call for an end to gun violence.
On March 8, 2016, a jury found John M. McDonald guilty of first-degree murder and carrying a firearm without a license. He was subsequently sentenced to a mandatory term of life in prison without the possibility of parole. The case was investigated by the Harrisburg Bureau of Police and prosecuted by the Dauphin County District Attorney's Office.
