Brenden Harmon, a 22-year-old Black / African American male from Felton, Delaware, was killed in the early morning hours of October 10, 2021, after violence erupted outside a house party in Dover. The gathering was taking place at a residence in the 1500 block of Nathaniel Mitchell Road, where several people were standing outside when a vehicle approached the home.
What had been a social gathering suddenly turned into a scene of panic as occupants of the vehicle opened fire into the crowd.
Delaware State Police said troopers were dispatched at about 1:03 a.m. for a report of a shooting. When they arrived, they found five people wounded: three males and two females. All five were taken to Bayhealth Hospital Kent Campus. Harmon was pronounced dead at the hospital. The other victims included two males, ages 25 and 19, who were reported in stable condition, a 25-year-old woman who was later transferred to Christiana Hospital in critical condition, and a 19-year-old woman who was treated and released.
Investigators described the shooting as involving a vehicle with an unknown number of occupants. The vehicle approached the residence, and multiple rounds were fired at the people outside before the suspects fled in an unknown direction. Later Delaware State Police materials identified the location more specifically as 1573 Nathaniel Mitchell Road and said Harmon had been attending the party and was standing outside with other attendees when the vehicle drove by and its occupants fired several shots.
At the time police released Harmon’s name, authorities said there was no suspect information available. Public reports from the days after the shooting did not identify any suspects, arrests, or charges connected to his death. Available online law enforcement and news reports describe the case as a homicide investigation and a drive-by-style shooting, but they do not provide details showing that anyone had been arrested, charged, tried, or convicted in connection with Harmon’s killing.
