In the early hours of April 20, 2022, a violent confrontation on James Avenue near the Sumitomo Rubber Plant in the Town of Tonawanda claimed the life of 19-year-old Harith Mohamed Alkhalaf of Buffalo. Officers arriving after reports of a fight found Alkhalaf dead at the scene from both shooting and stabbing injuries. A second man involved was taken by private vehicle to Kenmore Mercy Hospital with minor stab wounds.

The other person involved was identified by police as 23-year-old Michael A. Atkinson of the Town of Tonawanda. Atkinson was later charged with Manslaughter in the First Degree and Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree. After a four-day trial, a jury acquitted him of manslaughter but convicted him of criminal possession of a weapon; a judge subsequently imposed a seven-year prison term with five years of post-release supervision.

Are there witnesses or local readers who remember the night of April 20, 2022, or who have information about what happened on James Avenue that could shed light on this case?