In the pre-dawn hours of a Sunday morning in Danville, Kentucky, a burst of gunfire shattered the quiet of North Fifth Street. Responding to a call of shots fired at 3:47 a.m. on June 9, 2024, police discovered a pickup truck that had crashed into the yard of a residence. Inside the vehicle, they found 43-year-old Maurice Stitt, a male, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Investigators believe Stitt was driving on North Fifth Street when he was fired upon from the west side of the street.
It is thought that he attempted to reverse his truck to escape the gunfire before crashing. Stitt was rushed to the Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center, but he was later pronounced dead.
The investigation into the shooting death of Maurice Stitt, an entrepreneur and event promoter, led Danville Police to make an arrest the following month. On July 8, 20-year-old Caleb K. Burns of Danville was taken into custody and charged with the murder of Stitt. Burns was subsequently lodged at the Boyle County Detention Center. While an arrest has been made, police have indicated that the investigation is ongoing and that more arrests are anticipated in connection with the case.
The shooting that claimed Maurice Stitt's life was the second of two violent incidents that occurred within an hour of each other in Danville that morning. At 2:51 a.m., police had responded to another shots fired call at a private club on Dillehay Street known as The Den. Although officers found a weapon at that scene, no victim was present. Minutes later, emergency services were dispatched to a residence on Mason Avenue where they found Justin Grey with a single gunshot wound to his abdomen. Grey was transported to the hospital and has since been released. Authorities have been investigating to determine if the two shootings are connected, but have not publicly confirmed a link between the incidents.
