Dwayne Shelley Griffith, a 41-year-old Black man and lifelong Springfield resident, was shot on the evening of August 12, 2023 near State and Dresden Streets. A ShotSpotter activation brought police to the scene; Griffith was found with gunshot wounds and taken to Baystate Medical Center, where he died later that night.

The Springfield Police Department investigated the homicide and identified a suspect, 28-year-old Ethan Fitzgerald of Ludlow. An arrest warrant for Fitzgerald was issued January 23, 2024, and he was taken into custody the next morning near Jefferson Avenue and Dwight Street. He was charged with murder, carrying a firearm without a license, carrying a loaded firearm without a license, and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building and was being held without the right to bail.

Records in the case note Fitzgerald had previous gun-related convictions and had been out on bail at the time of Griffith’s death; he also faced separate drug and weapons arrests in September that included two illegal firearms, one described as a ghost gun, plus drugs and cash, and had been released on bail after that arrest. Does anyone in Springfield remember seeing activity near State and Dresden Streets that night or have information that could help investigators?