In the early evening of August 22, 2019, Xavier McCray, a 25-year-old Black man, was fatally wounded in a drive-by shooting on Presidential Boulevard in Paterson, New Jersey. Nicknamed 'Zay' or 'X-Man' by those who knew him, McCray was one of three men struck by gunfire that evening. The incident occurred around 7:01 p.m. when a vehicle passed a crowd of people gathered outside an apartment building and a passenger opened fire.
Emergency services responded to reports of shots fired and
transported McCray and the other two victims, a 19-year-old from Paterson and a 38-year-old from Jersey City, to St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center. While the other two men were treated for their injuries and survived, Xavier McCray succumbed to his wounds and was pronounced dead at the hospital.
An investigation into the shooting led to the arrests of two suspects. Jordany Santana, the alleged driver of the vehicle, was charged five days after the incident. The alleged shooter, Nasiera Jones, was already in custody on unrelated drug charges when he was charged with murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and weapons offenses in connection with McCray's death. Authorities reported that after the shooting, the suspects abandoned the vehicle used in the attack a short distance away and fled in a second car.
