In the pre-dawn hours of September 14, 2022, a burst of gunfire on Interstate 95 ended the life of 31-year-old Earl Gayle, a Black/African American man. Gayle was the front-seat passenger in a 2013 Infiniti G37 traveling southbound through Connecticut with two other men when another vehicle pulled alongside and opened fire.

The driver, 29-year-old Jovel McKenzie, was grazed by a bullet on his right shoulder but managed to drive off the highway at Exit 10 in Darien and flag down a Darien police sergeant at Noroton Avenue and Maple Street at about 3:42 a.m. A back-seat passenger, 28-year-old Rashawn McCalla, was critically injured and later underwent surgery; McKenzie declined treatment for his superficial wound. Gayle was taken to Stamford Hospital but was pronounced dead.

Connecticut State Police and the Western District Major Crimes Squad led the investigation, sealing part of I-95 to search for evidence and recovering ten shell casings south of the Exit 16 on-ramp in Norwalk. Investigators said they believe the shooting was isolated and there was no ongoing public threat, but no arrests or suspects have been publicly identified. Anyone with information or dashcam footage is asked to come forward.