A violent confrontation between squatters and residents in a Bronx, New York apartment complex ended in tragedy, leaving two people dead and another injured. The incident, which occurred in the early hours of May 24, 2024, has heightened tensions in the University Heights community.
Claretha Daniels, 44, and Justin Lawless, 36, were socializing with neighbors outside 2290 Davidson Avenue when Daniels mentioned feeling disrespected by one of the “undocumented newcomers” squatting in the building. According to NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny, this led to a heated exchange. “A comment was made. She took offense to it,” Kenny said, though the exact words remain unclear.
Three longtime residents confronted the squatters, who had occupied vacant apartments in the building for six months. The confrontation escalated when the newcomers retrieved weapons, including knives and bats. In the ensuing chaos, Josue Silva, a 21-year-old Venezuelan national, allegedly pulled a gun and opened fire. Silva shot 40-year-old Everett Slade in the arm before fatally shooting Daniels and Lawless in the chest as he fled the scene.
“As he’s running past them, he hits them both in the chest, kills them both,” Kenny reported. The victims were pronounced dead at the hospital, while the injured man is recovering.
Silva, who remains at large, is also a suspect in a non-fatal shooting in the same building where an undocumented newcomer shot himself in the hand earlier this year. Authorities believe Silva provided the gun used in that incident. “They’re squatters. They (the undocumented newcomers) broke into the vacant apartments,” Kenny stated.
The event has sparked outrage and fear among residents. Community members voiced their concerns about the squatters and the escalating violence. One neighbor, preferring to remain anonymous, said, “We’ve been living in fear. These squatters have taken over, and now this is happening. It’s terrifying.”
Silva, whose criminal record includes six arrests for robbery, theft, and gun possession, has only been in New York for about a year, crossing over illegally from Mexico in May of 2023. His alleged involvement in a series of moped robberies in the city has further complicated the situation. Law enforcement officials expressed frustration with the challenges of tracking undocumented newcomers with criminal backgrounds. “We have no idea who they are, what they’ve done in their own countries, what the plan is for them now that they’re here,” an official said.
The NYPD has increased patrols in the area and urged the public to help locate Silva.
Local leaders are urging city officials to implement solutions to prevent such tragedies from recurring.
