Melissa Bailey Photo
Friends and family hold a vigil for “TJ” Friday night.
Street outreach workers rolled into action Friday, family and friends wept on a rainy sidewalk, and the mayor huddled with high-school principals and top cops, as New Haven reeled from the second murder of a teenager in less than two weeks.
The efforts followed the shooting death of 16-year-old Torrence Gamble Jr. on Daggett Street Thursday evening. The shooter fled the scene. (Police are looking for a dark-colored vehicle that may have some connection to the case.)
Police responded to the call at 9:38 p.m. Thursday at 78 Daggett St. in the Hill. There they found Gamble, shot in the head, according to police spokesman Officer David Hartman. Gamble was rushed to Yale-New Haven Hospital, where he underwent surgery. He was pronounced dead at 3:15 a.m. He was 16 years old. He attended Riverside Academy.
Police are just starting their investigation. They ask anyone with information to call (203) 946‑6304.
Lt. Rachel Cain said Friday afternoon that the police do not yet have any “solid” suspects or motives.
“A lot of information is coming in. We’re following a lot of leads,” she said.
Last week a 17-year-old New Havener, Taijhon Washington, was shot dead, also in the head at Lilac and Butler streets.
Gamble, who went by the nickname “TJ” for Torrence Jr., had attended Taijhon’s funeral just Wednesday morning, according to Nakia Dawson, TJ’s aunt. Dawson was one of dozens of family and friends who gathered in the rain at 7 p.m. Friday night to hold a vigil at the spot where TJ was killed.
The grief was too much for some to bear.
“That’s my brother!” cried out a young woman, doubling over in tears.
Others bent to place candles in a sidewalk memorial.
Tyisha Walker, an alder in the West River neighborhood, spoke while family and friends gathered in a circle, holding hands. Walker is TJ’s cousin.
“I’m tired of doing this. I’m tired of going to different corners. … I’m tired of people in my family dying,” Walker said.
“The power is in everybody that’s standing right here,” she said, addressing the young people in the crowd. “You’ve just got to make a decision — whether you want to be on another corner with some candles next week saying the same thing, ‘I can’t take this no more,’ or” else go to school and leave the street life alone.
TJ’s grandfather, Abraham Gallishaw (pictured), arrived later and led the group in prayer. He asked the group to hold hands again.
“If we don’t stand for one another tonight, we’re going to be lost like my grandson TJ,” he said. “It’s a wake-up call for all of us.”
Harp Meets With Principals
“New Haven is once again struck by sadness today after one of its children was struck by gunfire and killed last night – the latest example of heartbreaking violence on our city streets,” Mayor Toni Harp stated in a release Friday afternoon. “These victims are children of the city, the causes of this youth violence are complex, and the tools of this violence are far too easy to obtain and use.”
“There is no respite in our resolve to address the matter.”
Harp’s office issued the release after she met with high school principals and police officials to discuss a response to the latest murder.
Meanwhile, street outreach workers went to Yale-New Haven following the shooting and spent Friday fanning out to meet with the families involved and young people who might have a connection to the case, according to Shirley Ellis-West, who runs the program out of the Family Alliance organization. One goal is to try to prevent any potential retaliatory shootings.
“We were at the hospital last night. We are talking to families and kids today. It’s what we do” after any shooting involving young people, Ellis-West said.
The mayor has also asked “teachers, coaches, and principals, [and] members of the clergy … to go door-to-door and meet families so we can better understand and support their needs, and so they can help us identify the resources that will lead to peace and safety for our children,” according to the press statement.
Allan Appel Photo
Riverside Academy social worker Raynetta Woods with student Bryce Goldson at Taijhon Washington’s funeral Wednesday.
The shooting was the second blow to students at Riverside Academy, some 20 of whom attended the funeral earlier this week of Taijhon Washington. Washington, who lived in Hamden, briefly attended Hillhouse High School for part of last school year. He was friendly with many Riverside students. (Read about that here.)
The scene was tense Friday in the parking lot of Riverside Academy, at 560 Ella Grasso Blvd., as students streamed out of the building around 1 p.m.
One student, speaking in the parking lot outside the school, recalled TJ as a “nice guy” from Newhallville who played on the Riverside basketball team. Torrence, a sophomore, wore jersey #1, the student said.
The student was interrupted by a school security guard inside Riverside who opened the door and screamed at him not to talk to the press. Other students nearby taunted him and warned that school staff had said not to “snitch.”
The security guard also beckoned another student inside and instructed him not to talk to the press.
Principal Wanda Gibbs declined to comment for this story on behalf of her school.
Schools Superintendent Garth Harries said the system is providing grief counseling for students who knew Torrence.
Harries issued this statement:
“I am deeply saddened and troubled by the killing of one of our students. In two weeks, we have lost two young people in our community to gun violence — tragedies that extend into our schools and neighborhoods and touch the lives of hundreds of our students. The violence has got to stop. We must come together as a community and a school system and send a clear message that we will not tolerate this kind of violence. We also have to work harder to engage young people before they end up on a dangerous path. My thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of Torrence Gamble.”
