Ewing, NJ man charged with murdering transgender woman

A 36-year-old Ewing man has been arrested and charged in the deadly shooting of a transgender woman in Trenton on Friday.

Around 4:40 a.m., Trenton Police responded to a shooting at a home in the first block of Kelsey Avenue and found that the 23-year-old Shaquil Loftin had been shot in the face.

Loftin was pronounced dead a short time later.

Daniel L. Smith was taken into custody on Saturday night during a motor vehicle stop in his hometown, Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri announced.

Smith is charged with one count of murder and multiple weapons offenses, Onofri said.

As the motive remained under investigation, Smith could potentially face bias charges based on Loftin’s gender identity, according to the prosecutor’s office.

Anyone with information can contact the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office at 609-989-6406. Tips can also be emailed to mchtftips@mercercounty.org.

In a separate, unrelated deadly shooting Sunday, Trenton Police responded around 12:30 a.m. to gunfire in the 800 block of Stuyvesant Avenue.

There, officers found Daquan Basnight, of Ewing, had been shot in the head.

As of Sunday evening, no arrests had been made in Basnight’s death.

Police also noted there was no evidence to suggest the shooting was related to last week’s deadly shooting, several blocks away on the same street.

On Thursday, 58-year-old Leonard Pettigrew was shot and killed in the 1400 block of Stuyvesant Avenue.

Anyone with information on Basnight’s death can contact Detective Shawn Bruton at 609-989-6406. Tips can also be emailed to mchtftips@mercercounty.org.