Justin Chatfield, 21, was fatally shot in the torso in the hallway of his apartment building at 30 Richman Plaza in the Morris Heights neighborhood of the Bronx on the night of April 2, 2026. The shooting occurred at about 10:20 p.m. and left his mother, who was inside their apartment, to discover him grievously wounded; he was taken to St. Barnabas Hospital and did not survive.

Reports describe a long-running feud of roughly five years between Chatfield and his 76-year-old neighbor, Gilbert Smalls. Detectives canvassing the building sought surveillance footage and interviewed Smalls, who reportedly confessed to the shooting and was arrested; he was charged with murder, manslaughter, and criminal possession of a weapon.

Family and friends recall Chatfield as a bubbly peacemaker who was looking forward to becoming a father, pursuing trade school and employment. Some accounts say he may have stepped into the hallway that night trying to de-escalate a separate argument. Did anyone in Morris Heights see or record activity in the building hallway that evening?