Mateo Renato Banegas, 18, a Hispanic male, was shot multiple times on the afternoon of July 22, 2025, near the intersection of Wilton Boulevard and Stonebridge Boulevard in the Wilton community of New Castle, Delaware. Officers with the New Castle County Division of Police responded around 3:58 p.m., found him wounded, and performed life-saving measures before he was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Early police alerts asked residents to expect road closures and an increased presence in the area as detectives began their investigation. Local reporting placed the scene near a housing complex behind a Walmart, underscoring how suddenly the quiet of an ordinary weekday was broken by gunfire.
In the weeks that followed, detectives identified multiple suspects. Two juveniles—a 16-year-old from Bear and a 17-year-old from New Castle—were arrested and charged with first-degree murder and related offenses stemming from the shooting. According to subsequent updates, each juvenile also faced firearms charges; the 17-year-old additionally was charged with possession of a firearm by a person prohibited. Both were arraigned in New Castle County Family Court and held at the county detention center on seven-figure cash bail.
Authorities also obtained warrants for a third suspect, identified as 19-year-old Mehki Wilson of Elkton, Maryland, on charges that include first-degree murder. As of the most recent public updates, he remained at large, with the New Castle County Police Division's fugitive team working alongside the FBI's Delaware Violent Crime and Safe Streets Task Force to locate him; rewards were offered for information leading to his arrest.
Police named Banegas as the victim the day after the shooting, and regional outlets echoed the identification while noting the late-afternoon timing and location of the attack. Community memorial pages and gun-violence trackers subsequently recorded his death, reflecting the outpouring of grief and the official notices that documented the case.
