Champion Boxer Shot Dead In The Hill

(Updated) Dayshon Smith, a 28-year-old local boxer nicknamed ​“Superfreak” for his power and reach in the ring, was shot and killed amid gunfire in the Hill Saturday after a large party on Rosette Street turned deadly, leaving five others hospitalized.

Police Chief Otoniel Reyes, Mayor Justin Elicker, and Assistant Chief Karl Jacobson provided updates on the fatal shooting during a Sunday afternoon press conference at the corner of Wilson and Rosette Streets.

“Last night we lost another New Haven resident,” Elicker said, standing before a web of yellow crime scene tape blocking Rosette between Wilson and Hurlburt Streets. 

As the rain poured down, Elicker said that Smith’s death marked the 14th homicide in the city so far this year.

“Anytime we lose one of our New Haven residents, it’s a tragedy,” he said. ​“It’s a difficult time for our community, but we will get through this together.”

Smith was a champion amateur boxer who lived on Congress Avenue and trained for years at the Hill’s Ring One boxing gym. (See more below.)

Homicide Memorial Vigil Turned Violent

Reyes (pictured at right) said that police responded to the area of Hurlburt and Rosette at around 10:30 p.m. Saturday because of neighbors’ calls about a large crowd on the street.

“There was a vigil of sorts here,” Reyes said. People were out commemorating the seven year anniversary of the death of another homicide victim, 18-year-old Devante Jackson, who was gunned down at Rosette and Hurlburt Streets on Aug. 15, 2013.

Reyes said that the crowd had dispersed by the first time the officers arrived. The officers cleared the scene, he said, and then were redeployed to other areas of city — to Sargent Drive and to Ella T. Grasso Boulevard in response to calls about drag racing.

Then, at 11:51 p.m., Reyes said, city police received ShotSpotter alerts of gunfire at the intersection of Hurlburt and Rosette. The chief said police also received 911 calls from neighbors about the gunfire. Those neighbors also spoke of a large dice game being played in the area, and about a dispute that may have led to the subsequent violence.

“Arriving officers found a large dispersing crowd,” Reyes said. And they found ​“an expansive crime scene that extended well beyond the original location of 173 Rosette into parts of other surrounding streets.”

Police identified six victims related to the gunfire.

The only one to die was Smith. The other five victims were all hospitalized for their wounds. Reyes said the five hospitalized gunshot victims are all currently in stable condition, they are all New Haven residents, and they range in age from 27 to 38 years old. Two are women and three are men.

One of the female gunshot victims suffered a ​“really critical wound,” Reyes said. He praised the ​“tremendous work by EMS personnel and hospital staff” for helping stabilize the victim, who ultimately survived.

Reyes said that, at this time, police do not believe that Saturday night’s shooting had anything to do with the shooting death of Ricky Newton that took place earlier this summer on that very same stretch of Rosette Street.

“We don’t feel this is some sort of retaliation,” he said. ​“We feel this is something that happened organically here during this incident.” He reiterated that the crime scene was ​“expansive,” and that police found multiple shell casings of multiple calibers, indicating that there was more than one gun involved.

“He Was Doing The Right Things”

Brian Clark (pictured), who runs the Ring One boxing gym on Congress Avenue, turned out for the rain-soaked press conference to speak up on behalf of his former boxing student.

“He was a good kid,” Clark said. ​“Quiet. A real quiet kid.”

Smith had a job working with disadvantaged youth, Clark said, and no criminal record. He said Smith had a daughter whom he adored and spent much time with. 

“He worked. Had a real job. A real legit job,” Clark said. ​“He was a good father. He was doing the right things.”

And, Clark said, Smith was a tremendous boxer.

He said Smith won the first 22 matches he fought in, a near unheard-of winning streak in the sport. Clark said Smith ultimately stopped going to Ring One several months ago because he wanted to try to become a professional boxer, which Clark disapproved of. 

Not because Smith didn’t have the talent, but because, as Clark said, ​“You make more money at Walmart” than as a full-time boxer.

This 2017 article in the Lowell Sun described Smith’s successful fight in the New England Golden Gloves Open Division Finals which earned him a ticket to a National Tournament in Lafayette, La.

The reporter notes Smith’s nickname of ​“The Superfreak,” and states that Smith started boxing relatively late in his young life because he was needed at home to help his mom raise his younger brothers. The article states that his mom passed away in 2010.

“I kind of wish I would’ve started boxing earlier, but everything happens for a reason,” Smith is quoted as saying in the article. ​“I got great people behind me, a great coach and I feel like physically there’s nothing stopping me.”

This WTNH profile from 2017 also describes Smith in the runup to his national tournament fight in Louisiana. Smith says in the piece that he earned the nickname ​“The Superfreak” from Clark and from local national champion boxer Chad Dawson.

Smith says in the profile that he was resistant to the nickname at first. But a few weeks later, when his coach urged him into the ring before a fight by saying, ​“It’s your turn, Superfreak,” something clicked.

“Yeah,” Smith said. ​“They ain’t never seen nothing like me.”

“People do not understand the challenges of inner city kids,” Clark said Sunday afternoon. ​“I don’t care what color you are. Any kid that makes it out of the inner city scores big.” Clark said that Smith was the third local boxer he’s lost to gun violence in his years running the gym.

“He was a real good kid,” Clark said. ​“I wouldn’t be standing in the rain for no reason. He was a good kid.”

“The Community Has Been Very Helpful”

In addition to praising local police officers, West Haven police who helped respond to the call, American Medical Response (AMR) emergency responders and local firefighters who all were on scene Saturday night, Reyes also thanked members of the community who called in and have been calling in to help the police crack the case.

“We received a lot of calls from community members,” he said. ​“The community has been very helpful.”

Reyes said that the department has seized nearly 30 guns off the streets in the last few weeks. ​“Those are staggering numbers for a city of our size,” he said. He said that number is indicative of the hard work the department puts in to keep New Haveners safe.

Harkening back to the sharp increase in gun violence from earlier this summer, Reyes also referenced a ​“perfect storm” of factors contributing to an uptick in local violence.

One such factor, he said, is people recently released from prison getting into violent disputes when back out in the community.

While Clark and three of the other victims had no criminal records, he said, two of the gunshot victims from Saturday night’s shooting were recently released from prison. One is on probation, and one on parole.

These people’s criminal histories may be related to the shooting that ultimately took place, Reyes said.

According to a police email press release Sunday afternoon, the five other gunshot victims from Saturday night include a 27-year-old woman who was shot multiple times in the side of her torso, a 28-year-old woman who was shot in the arm and leg, a 31-year-old man who was shot in the face, a 37-year-old man who was shot twice in the leg, and a 37-year-old man who was shot in the thigh.

Detectives are asking anyone with information to contact the New Haven Police Department at 203 – 946-6304. Callers may remain anonymous. 

See below for an earlier version of this article.

1 Killed, 5 Hospitalized After Hill Shooting

One person was killed and five others remain hospitalized after a Saturday night shooting in the Hill.

New Haven Police Department spokesperson Capt. Anthony Duff sent out an email press update about the group shooting Sunday morning.

He wrote that city police and firefighters responded at around 11:51 p.m. Saturday to a ShotSpotter alert of gunfire and 911 calls of people shot on Rosette Street near Hurlburt Street.

He said ambulances transported four gunshot victims to Yale New Haven Hospital, two other gunshot victims arrived at the hospital by private vehicle.

“One victim has been pronounced deceased and five victims remain hospitalized in stable condition,” Duff wrote.

New Haven Police Major Crimes detectives and Bureau of Identification forensic detectives responded to the shooting location. The crime scene includes portions of Rosette Street, Hurlburt Street, and Wilson Street.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the New Haven Police Department at 203 – 946-6304.

According to the latest weekly CompStat crime data report, this fatal shooting represents the 14th homicide of the year so far — and just the latest act of gun violence in a summer that has seen a sharp uptick in shootings, particularly in the Hill.

Earlier this summer, 36-year-old New Havener Ricky Newton was shot and killed near the intersection of Rosette Street and Wilson Street. Police succeeded in arresting his killer in Maryland less than three weeks later.

And in late June, 27-year-old Naugatuck resident Luis Nelson Perez was shot and killed on Elliot Street in the Hill.

Saturday night’s shooting comes just one day after a group of local clergy and church congregants traveled through the neighborhood in a prayer caravan, pleading for peace, unity, and non-violence amidst such a traumatic year.