Robert J. White, a 37-year-old Black / African American male from Harrington, Delaware, died on December 11, 2019, after he was shot in the unit block of Diamond Court in Harrington. The shooting happened around 6:30 p.m., when Delaware State Police were called to assist the Harrington Police Department with a report of gunfire. What began as an emergency response quickly became a homicide investigation after White was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead.
Investigators said
White had just left his residence on foot when he was shot close to where he lived. One local report described him as leaving his girlfriend's house to buy cigarettes when a vehicle pulled up and someone inside fired at him before leaving the area. White suffered a single gunshot wound. The suddenness of the shooting, the fact that it happened near his home, and the lack of an immediate suspect description left the case with few public answers in the first hours after his death.
At first, authorities did not release White's name while they worked to notify his family. Two days later, Delaware State Police publicly identified the victim as Robert J. White of Harrington. Funeral information later confirmed that he had been born on August 24, 1982, and died on December 11, 2019, with services arranged through Pippin Funeral Home in Camden Wyoming.
The Delaware State Police Homicide Unit took over the investigation at the request of the Harrington Police Department. Publicly released information described the shooter as an unknown subject, and authorities asked anyone with information to contact Detective Grassi with the Delaware State Police Homicide Unit or Delaware Crime Stoppers. The case was treated as an active homicide investigation, but the available public reports did not identify a suspect, announce an arrest, or describe any charges, trial, or conviction connected to White's death.
