James Pinkett, a 67-year-old Black male, was killed on December 28, 2019, in Wilmington, Delaware, in a shooting that turned an ordinary evening on East 29th Street into a tragedy. Authorities said the gunfire broke out along the 1300 block of East 29th Street, where Pinkett was struck by a bullet as shots were fired from a moving vehicle. What later emerged from the investigation was that Pinkett was not simply caught in the chaos; he was shielding nearby children when he was shot in the
back.
The shooting happened just days after other gunfire incidents in Wilmington. Investigators later connected Dion Young to a December 24, 2019 shooting at a Wilmington convenience store, where gunshots were fired through the door and a customer was injured. Two days later, on December 26, Young and another shooter were accused of firing shots near East 9th and Lombard Streets, though no identifiable victims were reported in that incident. Then, on December 28, prosecutors said Young and Ameer Dunn fired multiple shots from a moving vehicle as it traveled down East 29th Street. One of those shots struck Pinkett as he placed himself between the gunfire and nearby children.
For years, the case remained active as a cold case. Wilmington Police continued investigating Pinkett's killing, and the case was eventually handled by the department's Cold Case Unit. In December 2024, a grand jury indicted Dion Young and Ameer Dunn in connection with the killing. Young was from New Castle County, Delaware, and Dunn was from Harris County, Texas. Authorities said the indictment came after investigators tied them to the fatal shooting and, in Young's case, to the earlier December 2019 shooting incidents.
The case ended with convictions rather than a trial verdict. Young pleaded guilty to manslaughter, three counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, attempted first-degree assault, two counts of second-degree conspiracy, first-degree reckless endangering, and second-degree assault. Dunn pleaded guilty to manslaughter, two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, attempted second-degree assault, and first-degree conspiracy.
On February 19, 2026, both men were sentenced for their roles in the series of shootings. Young received 13 years in prison, while Dunn received 10 years in prison. Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings described Pinkett's final actions as heroic, saying he put himself in front of children to protect them from the defendants' gunfire. What began as another act of violence on a Wilmington street became remembered not only for the loss of James Pinkett's life, but for the way he used his final moments trying to save others.
