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(Updated) Uzziah Shell, the 16-year-old shot to death this past Friday, had been involved in recent disputes with youth crews in town, according to people familiar with the case.
Police at this point are familiar with various stories circulating about those disputes. They have not concluded which one actually led to his killing, which took place mid-afternoon Friday near Goffe and Hudson Streets. A stray bullet also struck a school bus.
Shell was enrolled in the alternative school Riverside Academy.
Police are investigating the killing. They have not made any further arrests since Friday’s arrest of a different 16-year-old in the area who had a “ghost gun” on him. That 16-year-old is not a suspect in Friday’s homicide, according to Police Chief Karl Jacobson.
Jacobson also said that police have “recovered a vehicle” that was involved in the homicide. A group called the One in Five Foundation has put out a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the shooter, as first reported by Hearst Connecticut’s Liz Hardaway.
He said that police have “upgraded patrols in the area of Hillhouse and Reggie Mayo” schools at “school take-in and let out” times on Monday. He said he himself was at Reggie Mayo for drop off on Monday. He said the police department has also put motor units in the area of Hillhouse High School and Goffe Street to deter anyone from driving around with weapons in their cars.
Asked for a comment for this article, New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) spokesperson Justin Harmon said, “The district is providing counseling support to students and staff who knew the young man, to students who witnessed the shooting from the school bus, and to all who have been affected by this loss.”
See below for a previous version of this article.
A 16-year-old New Havener was shot and killed and a school bus was struck by a stray bullet in an afternoon shooting Friday near Goffe Street and Hudson Street.
According to a Friday night press release sent out by city police spokesperson Officer Christian Bruckhart, officers were dispatched to the area of Goffe and Hudson at around 2:37 p.m. for a ShotSpotter activation. Subsequent 911 calls reported a person shot.
“On arrival, officers located a shooting victim, a 16-year-old New Haven resident,” Bruckhart wrote. “He was transported to Yale-New Haven Hospital by ambulance where he ultimately succumbed to his injuries.”
As officers canvassed the area for suspects, Bruckhart wrote, a different 16-year-old was detained on Hudson in possession of a “ghost gun” with an extended magazine. “It does not appear the juvenile was responsible for the shooting.”
Officers also learned that “a passing school bus with children on it was struck by a stray bullet. The bus driver acted quickly and stopped several blocks away from the scene; no children on the bus were injured and members of Yale Child Study were dispatched to assist with them.”
Police ask that anyone who may have witnessed this incident or who may have information valuable to investigators to call detectives at 203 – 946-6304 or through the department’s anonymous tip line at 866 – 888-TIPS (8477).
Friday’s shooting death marks the 11th homicide so far this year in New Haven. According to the city’s most recent CompStat crime data report, the city had seen 19 homicides by this point last year.