On the morning of May 20, 2023, 32-year-old Alex Smith was shot and killed in a Mastic Beach parking lot after leaving a local bar, Linsa Torr’s Place, with a woman who was the ex-girlfriend of the shooter. The attack occurred at about 2:00 a.m.; Smith was struck multiple times in the back and torso and then shot twice in the head at close range. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Authorities identified 34-year-old Joseph Scalafani of Mastic Beach as the person who opened fire. Investigators say the killing followed a weeklong dispute: on May 13 Scalafani had confronted his ex-girlfriend, reportedly brandishing a handgun and demanding she set up a meeting with Smith. After the May 20 shooting, Scalafani fled the area in a vehicle, crashed nearby, and escaped on foot.

A manhunt followed and investigators tracked Scalafani to St. Pete Beach, Florida, where he was arrested on June 4, 2023, and returned to Suffolk County to face charges including second-degree murder and weapons possession. If anyone knew Alex, the people he spent time with that week, or saw anything in Mastic Beach around May 20, please share what can help the case.