During the early morning hours of Thursday, September 21, 2023, patrol officers with the New Castle County Division of Police were dispatched to the unit block of Leader Drive, Newark, Delaware in reference to a shooting investigation. A 34-year-old male victim called 9-1-1 to report that he had been shot inside the home and explained that the shooter was still at the scene.
Upon arrival at the scene, officers established a perimeter, and attempted to contact the victim further. While on the perimeter, officers looked through a first-story window and observed the suspect armed with a firearm. The suspect then fired a shot through the window towards the officers. A one-year-veteran of the New Castle County Division of Police then fired back through the window at the suspect.
Additional units responded to the scene which included the Division of Police Crisis Management Group (CMG). The CMG consists of officers from Special Operations and includes the Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT), Crisis Negotiation Team (CNT) and the Explosives Ordinance Disposal (EOD) Team.
Officers from SWAT entered the residence to rescue the victims. Officers located the 34-year-old male victim and extracted him from the residence. He was transported to Christiana Medical Center by Aetna Hose, Hook & Ladder Company for treatment. The female victim was located inside the home and pronounced deceased at the scene by New Castle County Paramedics. SWAT team members later located the male suspect inside the residence with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound and pronounced deceased.
Detectives from the Criminal Investigations Unit also responded to the scene to assume the investigation. The investigation revealed the 34-year-old male suspect, arrived home and engaged in a confrontation with a 31-year-old female resident and her guest, the 34-year-old male victim. During the exchange, the male suspect fired a handgun striking both the male and female victims.
The New Castle County Division of Police conducts thorough investigations requiring numerous hours of interviews with the individuals involved, witnesses, and the collection and examination of all evidence; digital, physical, and forensic. Investigations are conducted by the New Castle County Division of Police Professional Standards Unit, the Criminal Investigations Unit, and the Department of Justice – Division of Civil Rights and Public Trust. Those investigations are active and ongoing.
This video release is intended to provide you with a better understanding of what occurred based on the officer’s body-worn camera. Body-worn cameras are issued to all operational units of NCCPD. They were worn and utilized by the officers who were directly involved in this incident.
The camera is worn at chest level and captures a general perspective from the line of sight of the camera. Due to the limited field of view of the camera lens, the recording may depict things that the officer did not see or hear. Also, the officers may have seen or heard things that were not recorded by the camera. Please be mindful that in the video you are about to view, the lighting conditions were not ideal for video recording. The lighting conditions may contribute to different perceptions.
We hope this recording will enhance your understanding of the incident. These video images are only one piece of evidence to be considered in reconstructing and evaluating the totality of the circumstances.
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