Jason Bennett, a 40-year-old Black male from Cincinnati, was shot on the night of June 28, 2025, while sitting in the driver’s seat of his car on the 3000 block of Gilbert Avenue in Walnut Hills. Police and fire crews responded around 10:30 p.m.; Bennett was rushed to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. Obituaries later identified him as Jason Lamar Bennett, born May 26, 1985.
Investigators said the shot was fired by 58-year-old John Smith, who was in the back seat with a handgun in his right hand as he tried to climb out of the car from the driver’s side. According to court papers summarized by local reports, Smith pushed repeatedly on Bennett’s reclined seat and the gun discharged, striking Bennett in the head. Smith’s attorney told the court the shooting was an accident, and a judge initially set bond at $500,000.
Police first arrested Smith shortly after the shooting, and he was booked on a reckless homicide charge; some early reports described the charge as involuntary manslaughter. Days later, a grand jury returned an indictment that expanded the case substantially: Smith was charged with murder, felonious assault, and discharge of a firearm on or near prohibited premises among seven total counts. Authorities said the investigation remained active and urged anyone with information to contact the Cincinnati Police Homicide Unit.
The killing was recorded publicly as a Cincinnati gun homicide that night, and memorial pages soon marked Bennett’s death. Funeral notices and memorial listings confirmed his identity and age; one funeral home notice recorded his passing as June 29, 2025, while news reports and public records tied the fatal shooting to June 28 in Walnut Hills.
