In the quiet, well-kept neighborhood near Garden Avenue and East 4th Street in Mount Vernon, New York, the afternoon of April 6, 2023, was shattered by violence. Tamani Turner, an 18-year-old Black male, was shot just a short distance from his family's home. It was a place where he was known and supposed to be safe, but in the broad daylight of early afternoon, he was struck twice in the torso by gunfire.
In the immediate aftermath, he was rushed by a private vehicle to Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital for medical attention. Due to the severity of his injuries, he was subsequently transferred to Jacobi Medical Center, but the efforts to save his life were unsuccessful, and he succumbed to his wounds.
The killing of Tamani Turner marked a tragic milestone for the city, as he was the third teenager to lose his life to homicide in Mount Vernon that year, leaving the community shaken and demanding answers. The Mount Vernon Police Department, with assistance from the FBI Westchester Safe Streets Task Force and the Westchester County Police Real Time Crime Center, launched an intensive investigation. Their efforts quickly led them to identify a suspect, 33-year-old Akeem Grant of Mount Vernon. The investigation revealed that Grant was attempting to flee the country.
A day after the fatal shooting, on the morning of April 7, 2023, authorities were alerted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection that Akeem Grant was at Philadelphia International Airport attempting to board a flight to Jamaica. He was promptly detained and arrested by the FBI's Philadelphia Field Office and the Philadelphia Police Department. Following extradition proceedings, Grant was returned to Mount Vernon to face justice.
On April 25, 2023, Akeem Grant was arraigned in Mount Vernon City Court. He was charged with Murder in the Second Degree and Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, along with several other charges related to his alleged attempts to conceal the crime and evade capture. After his arraignment, Grant was remanded to the Westchester County Department of Corrections to await further court proceedings. The case added another layer of sorrow when, during Turner's funeral, police arrested two other men; one for carrying a loaded handgun and another for attempting to interfere with that arrest.
