ASHEVILLE – After Denzel McKnight was shot in the stomach at the Hillcrest Apartments on July 26, several bystanders tried to help him as a large crowd gathered and a suspect was identified, police records show.
Asheville Police Department detectives continue to investigate the firearms death of McKnight after responding to a report of a gunshot wound at approximately 2:24 a.m. on July 26. Recently released police radio logs and a 911 call provide more details on the aftermath of the shooting.
Just before 2:30 a.m., a 911 caller told 911 dispatch he heard “at least four or five” gunshots between buildings Nos. 7 and 9 in Hillcrest, a neighborhood managed by the City of Asheville Housing Authority, according to a transcript obtained by the Citizen Times. The caller said the shots were fired “not even a minute before I called.”
“There's a girl yelling at people. But it's in the same area. I don't know what her problem is,” the caller said.
The police radio log said the person – later identified as McKnight, 31, of Asheville – was outside Building 8 and was receiving aid. At about 2:28 a.m., a passerby applied pressure to McKnight's abdominal wound while a “large crowd” was nearby, the log said.
An officer on scene requested additional police units at 2:32 a.m. due to the large crowd while CPR was in progress.
Four minutes later, the suspect's description was radioed: a black man in his early 30s wearing black jeans and a white shirt.
“That is an accurate description” of the suspect, police spokesman Rick Rice confirmed on August 23. “No suspect was arrested or questioned.”
First report: 1 man dead in early morning shooting at Hillcrest Apartments on July 26: APD investigating
According to reports, seven shell casings were found at the scene, something Rice had previously confirmed. Two apartments were damaged by bullets and a ricochet struck a Chrysler.
EMS transported McKnight – whose home address in Hillcrest is not listed – to Mission Hospital, where he arrived at 2:46 a.m., according to the log. His time of death was announced six minutes later, at 2:52 a.m.
At least two witnesses were identified at the scene, both of whom “refused to speak to officers,” the report states.
After McKnight's death, Blair Towing and Recovery towed evidence from the scene and the Asheville Fire Department responded to the scene to clean up the blood on the road using hazardous materials.
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Two months later, no one has been arrested or charged, while police continue to investigate and execute search warrants, Rice said on August 23.
McKnight was born in Miami and attended Asheville High School and Erwin High School, where he graduated in 2012, according to his obituary. He then spent a year at Fort Scott Community College in Kansas and a year at Mars Hill University, where he rededicated his life to Christ in 2015.
McKnight is described as a “local business owner” for five years who works in the cleaning industry in the Asheville community. The Citizen Times attempted to reach his family.
Before starting his own cleaning business, McKnight worked as a janitor at the First Congregational United Church of Christ of Asheville, according to Linda Burke, a longtime parishioner and church volunteer who knew McKnight.
“He was such a bright, open and happy person,” Burke said, adding that he “radiated joy.”
McKnight leaves behind his mother, father, five brothers and four sisters, who will cherish his loving memories, his obituary said.
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Ryley Ober is a public safety reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. You can email her at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter at @ryleyober.
