Antoine Sampson, a 43-year-old Black male from Clinton, Iowa, was fatally shot late on Sunday, July 17, 2022. Shortly before 11 p.m., Clinton police officers were dispatched to the intersection of 5th Avenue South and South 5th Street after receiving a report of gunfire. When officers reached the area, they found Sampson lying wounded in the roadway.
He had suffered at least one gunshot wound and was taken from the scene to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The shooting unfolded in a residential area that neighbors generally described as quiet. People living nearby recalled hearing several gunshots and then hearing a woman desperately calling for someone to help the injured man. Evidence of the gunfire remained around the scene, including bullets reportedly striking or landing near a residence. The sudden violence alarmed residents, particularly families who worried that stray gunfire could have entered a home or struck an uninvolved person.
The Clinton Police Department opened a homicide investigation with assistance from the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office, the Blackhawk Area Task Force, Clinton County Emergency Management, the Clinton County Medical Examiner’s Office, the Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner and the Clinton County Attorney’s Office. Investigators processed the intersection, sought witnesses and appealed to anyone with information to contact police or use the department’s anonymous tip line.
Police officials said they believed Sampson’s killing was a targeted shooting that grew out of an argument rather than a random attack. Authorities also stated that they did not believe there was an ongoing danger to the wider community. However, they did not publicly explain who had argued with Sampson, what the dispute involved or whether investigators had identified the person who fired the fatal shots.
Sampson’s death was followed only three days later by another fatal shooting in Clinton. On July 20, Zachary McDivitt was shot in the 100 block of North Fifth Street, and a teenager was quickly charged with first-degree murder in that case. Police emphasized that the two killings were not believed to be connected, even though both occurred within a short distance and during the same week.
As of the latest publicly available reporting located for Sampson’s case, no arrest had been announced, no suspect had been publicly named and no criminal charges, trial or conviction had been reported in connection with his death. The lack of a publicly identified gunman left the circumstances surrounding the argument and the moments leading to the shooting unresolved. Authorities continued to seek information from anyone who witnessed the confrontation, heard the gunfire or knew who was with Sampson before he was found in the street.
