Syracuse police charge two suspects in deadly shooting of 68-year-old man

Detectives linked the April 15 killing of Dwayne Frazier, 68, to two suspects they later found at James Geddes Housing on the city’s West Side, bringing a broad Syracuse investigation into focus. Frazier, of Syracuse, was shot in the head in the 300 block of Palmer Avenue on the South Side around 6 p.m. and died after being taken to Upstate University Hospital.

Police identified the suspects as Ayden Daily, 18, and a 16-year-old boy. Officers said they saw both on April 27 at about 4:06 p.m. at the Syracuse Housing Authority complex, then moved in on each suspect separately. The 16-year-old was taken into custody without incident. Daily ran on foot before officers caught him after a brief chase, and police said he was carrying a loaded handgun at the time of the arrest.

Both suspects face second-degree murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon charges. Daily faces an additional second-degree weapon count. He was lodged at the Onondaga County Justice Center pending arraignment, while the 16-year-old was sent to Hillbrook Juvenile Detention Center, the 32-bed secure facility used for juvenile delinquents, juvenile offenders and adolescent offenders under New York’s Raise the Age system.

Investigators said the case required interviews, a neighborhood and citywide canvass, multiple search warrants and the recovery and analysis of evidence before arrests were made. That kind of work reflects how seriously Syracuse police have had to respond to violent shootings that can move quickly between neighborhoods, from the South Side scene on Palmer Avenue to a public-housing complex on the West Side.

Court documents indicate the teens and another male were allegedly aiming at a different person when Frazier was killed, a detail that could shape how prosecutors frame the case as it moves forward. The investigation remains active, and police are still asking anyone with information to contact the department’s Criminal Investigations Division.

The arrests come against a citywide backdrop of continued concern over violence, even as Syracuse ended 2025 with 14 homicides, the fewest in more than a decade.