Damar Smith, 27, a Black/African American male from Wilmington, Delaware, was killed on the night of September 14, 2020, after gunfire broke out in the city's Price Run section. The shooting was reported at about 8:47 p.m. near Vandever Avenue and Locust Street, where Wilmington police responded and found Smith suffering from gunshot wounds. He was taken from the scene to a hospital, but his injuries were too severe, and he died after arrival.
By the next day, Wilmington police had
publicly identified the man killed as Damar Smith. The early police information described the case as a fatal shooting investigation and indicated that detectives were still working to determine what led up to the gunfire. The area where he was found sits in a residential part of Wilmington, and the circumstances released publicly suggest a sudden burst of violence that left officers searching for witnesses and information rather than immediately naming a suspect.
Smith was also remembered outside of police reports as Damar M. Smith, known to loved ones as “Day-Day.” His obituary said he was born in Wilmington on December 26, 1992, to Ursula Smith and Curtis Demby, was educated in Wilmington public schools, and had worked various jobs in the city. He was described as friendly, well-liked, and respectable, with a love for sports and music. He enjoyed rapping, singing, and dancing, and had aspirations tied to music production, making his death not only a police case but the loss of a young man whose family and friends saw creativity and promise in him.
No publicly available online reporting located for this synopsis identified a suspect, announced an arrest, or described charges, a trial, or a conviction in Smith's killing. The reports instead stated that the case remained under investigation and asked anyone with information to contact Wilmington Police Detective Brianna Rodrigues or Delaware Crime Stoppers. Based on the available online information, the homicide appears to have remained unsolved publicly, with investigators relying on tips from the community to help determine who shot Damar Smith and why.
