In the early evening of July 13, 2024, a tragic event unfolded at the Sumner Houses, a public housing complex in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. Deon Williams, a 32-year-old Black male, was fatally shot in the torso. The incident occurred around 6:26 p.m. near 68 Marcus Garvey Blvd. Responding to a 911 call, officers from the 79th Precinct and NYPD PSA 3 found Williams unconscious and unresponsive at the scene.
Emergency medical services promptly transported him to Kings County Hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later. Williams himself was a resident of the Sumner Houses, living on nearby Park Avenue.
The investigation into the shooting led to the arrest of 28-year-old Aaron Granton on July 27, 2024. Granton, who also lived in the Sumner Houses but in a different building, was taken into custody and subsequently charged with second-degree murder and two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. Following his arraignment in Brooklyn Criminal Court, he was ordered to be held without bail. This was not Granton's first encounter with the law, as he had a prior arrest for criminal possession of a weapon. His court date for the murder charge was set for August 1, with a separate court date of September 26 for the previous weapons charge.
As the investigation continued, authorities identified a second individual believed to be involved in Williams' death. On August 9, 2024, the NYPD announced they were searching for 24-year-old Damon Gaitor in connection with the homicide. Police believe both Granton and Gaitor were involved in the fatal shooting. The motive for the shooting has not been publicly released.
Deon Williams was remembered by his family as a warm and loving person. He leaves behind children and five siblings. Tragically, this was not the first time the Williams family had been struck by gun violence; his brother, Andre Avant, was also killed by gunfire in 2009. His mother, Charlotte Williams, expressed her profound grief and frustration with the ongoing issue of gun violence during his funeral service at the Lawrence H. Woodward Funeral Home in Bedford-Stuyvesant. The search for Damon Gaitor continues, and the case remains an active investigation.
