Staff report
Updated at 5:30 p.m. to include details on criminal background and pre-trial detention status.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Henri Prichon Hart, aged 43, has been taken into custody following allegations that he fatally stabbed another man on Mother’s Day.
The incident unfolded around 11:15 p.m. on May 10, when officers from the Gainesville Police Department were dispatched to the 600 block of NW 3rd Street. Upon arrival, they discovered a male victim, unconscious and suffering from numerous stab wounds to his upper body. Despite being rushed to a nearby hospital, the man was pronounced dead.
Law enforcement, including a K-9 unit from the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office, scoured the vicinity but were unable to locate the weapon.
According to a witness at the scene, the victim had arrived on a bicycle and was conversing with her when an individual approached. The assailant allegedly began assaulting the victim with his fists before withdrawing an object from his pocket and making stabbing motions. The witness recounted that she hurried inside to ask for someone to call 911. Upon returning outside, she observed the attacker kicking the victim, who was lying on the ground. The assailant then fled eastward on NW 6th Avenue on a bicycle, dressed in a shirt featuring orange, yellow, and white stripes.
Surveillance video from the area reportedly showed Hart riding a bike westbound toward the incident location at 11:07 p.m., and at 11:09 p.m., he can be seen riding eastbound on NW 6th Avenue and holding a shiny object in his hand. Hart is wearing an orange-and-white striped shirt in the video.
On May 18, GPD received an anonymous tip that the suspect in this case had the nickname “Hitman” and lives in the “100 building.” The tip also said that “Hitman’s” real name was “Oanry” or “Aunray” and sounded like “Henry.” The “100 building” is the common name for Oak Park Apartments (100 NE 8th Avenue). “Hitman” is a known alias for Hart.
Surveillance video from Oak Park reportedly shows the victim on the fifth floor, speaking with a neighbor, and Hart can be seen on the same floor, pacing back and forth and wearing black gloves and an orange-and-white striped shirt with yellow between the stripes.
Two women are seen going down the elevator, and then they exit the building, walking bicycles. The victim is also seen going down the elevator with his bicycle, and he leaves the building at 11:03 p.m. and speaks with the two women.
Hart is seen going down the stairwell, and he leaves the building at 11:04 p.m. and walks toward the victim and the two women. As Hart gets close to the group, the victim leaves on his bicycle, and Hart takes a bicycle from one of the women and follows the victim southbound on North Main Street. At 11:11 p.m., Hart returns to Oak Park with the bicycle, still wearing the black gloves. A short time later, one of the women returns to Oak Park and can be seen walking from the area of Hart’s apartment holding a bag.
The woman who had the bag was reportedly with Hart when he was arrested, and she said that when she returned to Oak Park that night, she found Hart cleaning a bloody knife in the toilet. She said he gave her a bag and told her to put it in the trash room but not in the trash can; she said she believed the bag contained Hart’s clothing from that evening.
Post Miranda, Hart reportedly said he did not get along with the victim and that he was riding his bike on the night of the incident when he saw the victim. He said that when he approached the victim, the victim threatened to kill him and eat him, so he drew a line in the ground and told the victim not to cross it. Hart said when the victim came within arm’s reach, he punched the victim one time, and the victim fell to the ground but got back up. He said he punched the victim again, and the victim fell to the ground again but kept kicking him.
Hart said the victim pulled out a knife, and he fell on top of the victim, causing the knife to stab the victim. He said that when he got up, he saw the victim’s “soul leave his body,” and he returned to Oak Park and burned his clothing and shoes somewhere else. He also said he cut his hair and beard after the incident. He denied having a knife during the incident and denied stabbing the victim.
However, the officer noted that his statements about the victim stabbing himself one time were not consistent with the two stab wounds in the victim’s upper chest.
Hart has been charged with first-degree homicide and tampering with evidence. He has 21 felony convictions (three violent) and 12 misdemeanor convictions (one violent), and he has served seven state prison sentences, with his most recent release in December 2025. Judge Olin Shinholser ordered him held without bail pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s Office to hold him without bail until trial; if the judge denies the motion, bail will be set at that hearing
Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law
