NEW HAVEN, Conn. — New Haven police are investigating a fatal shooting in the Fair Haven area of the city, and the local community there is voicing their frustration.
Officials first got reports of a gunshot victim at the intersection of Grand Avenue and East Pearl Street just before 5 p.m. Tuesday.
When they got to the scene, officers found Shaquille Chazz Pearson, 29, man who was shot multiple times. The man was rushed to Yale New Haven Hospital, where he then died from his injuries, officials said.
Officials said that the Shotspotter was not activated in the area where the shooting took place and ballistic evidence was found on the scene.
Police had received reports that just before the fatal shooting, a vehicle was driving down Peal Street toward Exchange Street when a passenger began firing a gun from the window. Those shots then struck the man.
Officers canvassed the area for the described vehicle. The vehicle was later recovered unoccupied in North Haven.
There have been over 80 shootings in the city so far this year, which is lower than this time last year. Out of those, 20 shootings were fatal, according to New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker.
Those who live in Fair Haven are voicing their frustration and concern regarding the violence.
“I heard the shots, like boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom like 10 times,” said neighbor Rubiel Rodriguez.
Pearson was remembered fondly by his neighbors.
“He was a good kid, minded his business,” said one neighbor who did not want to be identified. The neighbor lit a candle by the police scene in honor of the victim.
Another neighbor who also did not want to be identified said that Fair Haven was "getting brutal" with shootings, citing unmarked cars driving down the streets and people from other towns coming into the neighborhood.
Sarah Miller, the New Haven Alder representing this part of the city, also shared frustration. She lives around the corner from the crime scene.
“There’s just a dynamic at that corner that has been unhealthy for a long time. There’s been a lot of drug activity, a lot of violence. It’s been better for a while since we shut down the bar,” said Miller.
Still, Miller said there is much more work to do, including the city settling a police contract with the union.
“We don’t have the capacity for basic enforcement out here because we don’t have the police force, and we know that when we have a police contract, we’ll be in a better position to hire,” said Miller.
“This is a community that has been under-invested in and under-resourced for a very long time, but we are organized, and we are changing that now,” said Miller.
Miller pointed to projects including a school redevelopment in the neighborhood, a clean and safe initiative to help with the maintenance of streets, and a state grant to re-do Grand Avenue infrastructure.
New Haven Police said the investigation into the homicide is active. Police are asking 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).
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