Harold Whitt Harper, 64, was shot and killed in the front yard of his Ocala home in the city’s historic district on January 7, 2026. He had been outside in his garden after recent neck surgery when a single gunshot struck him; he died at the scene. His wife had just gone indoors and returned to find him fatally wounded.

Police say the attack appears to have been random. At about 3:35 p.m. a driver reported a man dressed in black who motioned him to stop and seemed to load a pistol; shortly afterward a second caller reported the shooting. Officers found 29-year-old Isaac Ezekiel Toye two blocks away with a pistol and arrested him; he was charged with homicide and two counts of aggravated assault and is being held without bond. Investigators report no known connection between Toye and Harper.

Does anyone who lived in or near Ocala’s historic district on January 7 remember seeing a man in black or anything unusual that afternoon?