City's 3rd Homicide In 2 Weeks Is Another High School Student, 17: PD

NEW HAVEN, CT — The fatal shooting of a New Haven boy is the third homicide in the city in the past two weeks, and the second slaying of a high school teen, police said.

It was around 6:40 p.m. Tuesday, when cops were called to Shelton Avenue and Huntington Street for a report of a shooting. When they got there they found "a male victim lying in a driveway suffering from a gunshot wound." Given immediate medical aid, he was rushed to Yale New Haven Hospital, where he died, police said.

Police notified his family and identified the boy as 17-year-old Daily Jackson.

Police said video surveillance was found by Real Time Crime Center personnel "showing a person inside a suspect vehicle fire at Jackson as he was walking on Shelton Avenue."

Shell casings were located and police Chief Karl Jacobson said Wednesday afternoon that investigators have identifed a possible suspect from "grainy video" from a nearby home. And, police have found the vehicle used in the shooting, which turned out to be stolen. He declined to give any more details, save to say the car is being processed. He noted that it's all hands on deck, given the slaying of two boys. He said the police department and the city are working to get a handle on "what's going on," by enlisting community and law enforcement "partners."

Jacobson admitted when asked by a reporter that there "could be further violence ... we're making lists" of young people, teens to early 20s, who cops think might be considering retaliation: "We're going out to find and talk to them."

The below 30-minute Facebook Live video is a news briefing on the killings.

Police said initial indications are that this was not a random attack.

A 16-year-old student gunned down

On Nov. 22, 16-year-old Uzziah Shell of New Haven was shot in the area of Goffe and Hudson streets in the Dixwell section of the city just after school dismissal time, and later died from his injuries.

A passing school bus with kids inside was struck by a stray bullet, but, as police noted, "The bus driver acted quickly and stopped several blocks away from the scene; no children on the bus were injured and members of the Yale Child Study were dispatched to assist with them."

Both Shell and the teen gunned down Tuesday night were Riverside Academy students.

According to its mission statement, "Riverside Academy is an urban alternative school that ensures access to equitable opportunity and successful outcomes for all students as they prepare for our students’ future endeavors."

The school, located at 103 Hallock Ave., has an enrollment of just 120 students.

New Haven Public Schools spokesperson Justin Harmon noted that the district has "extra counselors on cite to work with staff in supporting our students."

Harmon also noted that Riverside Academy is a "smaller school community, designed to provide students with the structure and support they need to succeed in school and life."

New Haven schools Superintendent Dr. Madeline Negrón was visibly upset during a news briefing Wednesday afternoon.

"I'm pleading with everybody out there," she said, explaining that the boys in the community are "different inside schools; they're engaged. "People don't see inside the schools. They're different. But the minute they leave the doors, something happens, and they get caught up with the nonsense in our streets."

Patch reached out to Academy principal, Derek Stephenson, for comment:

“We at Riverside Academy bear an insurmountable burden as we mourn the tragic passing of another of our students.

On Tuesday, December 3, 2024, the life of Daily Jackson, a junior at Riverside, was taken from us as a result of senseless gun violence. Daily was a friend to many, but it was his allegiance, respect, and the unbridled alliance he had for the late Uzziah Shell that has immeasurably impacted our entire school community. Sharing his emotions and offering support to those who needed it were hallmarks of his many admirable characteristics.

Daily was a quiet, introspective, compassionate young man with a fierce sense of loyalty and protection of those he cared for, which made him a confidante to his friends, family, community, and entire Riverside 'family.' Steadfast in his fidelity and faithfulness to others, Daily brought positive energy to Riverside. We are now left with a void which we know can never be filled.

Today we process, reflect, mourn, and hope that Daily's tragic loss of life will serve as a reminder of life's fragility, as we keep him forever in our hearts.”

A fatal daytime shooting Tuesday

Tuesday night's homicide follows the fatal daytime shooting of Christopher Santana, 25, of New Haven Monday. It was around 3:30 when police were summoned to a George Street parking lot near Winthrop Avenue following 911 calls reporting a person had been shot.

When they arrived, they found the victim, later identified as Christopher Santana, with a person attempting CPR on the man, police said. Unresponsive, CPR was continued by police until an ambulance arrived and took him to the Yale-New Haven Hospital York Street campus, where he succumbed to his injuries, police said.

Police ask that anyone who may have witnessed any of these incidents 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).