Lemuel Hamilton, 45, was shot in the pre-dawn hours of Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 2021, on Sherman Avenue in New Haven between Elm Street and Whalley Avenue. Police received 911 calls at about 1:17 a.m.; officers found Hamilton with gunshot wounds and he was taken to Yale New Haven Hospital with life-threatening injuries. He died in the early morning of November 30, 2021, becoming New Haven’s 25th homicide that year.

Hamilton, known to friends and family as Rif, was a self-employed artist. The New Haven Police Department’s Major Crimes Unit and Bureau of Identification opened an investigation and asked witnesses to come forward. At the time of those reports there were no publicly identified suspects or arrests and no subsequent public announcements about arrests or suspect identifications.

If anyone saw activity on Sherman Avenue that night or has information about Hamilton’s shooting, please contact New Haven police with what you know.