Melissa Bailey Photo
(Updated) A talented basketball player became the city’s latest homicide victim Saturday when police found him outside a West Hills housing project suffering from gunshot wounds.
Police got a report at 6:24 a.m. of a person shot near 72 South Genessee St. They found the victim inside a rented blue Ford Escape with New York plates. The SUV was parked outside that address, which is in the McConaughy Terrace housing complex.
The victim was taken to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to police.
Police identified the victim as Timothy Mathis, age 25, of New Haven. TJ, as he was known to friends, was a star 5‑foot‑9 point guard at Hamden High School. He graduated from high school in 2004 and went on to play for Morgan State University in Baltimore for two years.
The killing is either the city’s 24th or 25th homicide this year, depending on whether a woman found strangled to death near Wooster Square is determined to have been killed in New Haven or elsewhere.
Saturday morning’s victim appeared to be killed in another location before ending up on South Genessee.
Cops were holding the scene Saturday morning. Detectives Matthew Prinz (at left) and Omaida Nieves from the police Bureau of Identification arrived at 10:15 a.m. to look for evidence. Sgt. David Sydnor, who had been holding the scene, inspected the SUV with them as children played nearby on bicycles.
There didn’t appear to be any bullet holes in the SUV or shell casings at the scene.
Neighbors were surprised to find a crime scene Saturday morning because they had not heard any gunshots. New Yorker Wanda Gilliam, who was visiting her daughter at a nearby apartment, said she discovered the scene when she took out the trash Saturday morning. “I was really stunned about it” because “I heard nothing,” she said.
Another neighbor, who declined to give his name, said he was sleeping at 6:30 a.m. when he got a phone call.
“Yo, look out your window,” the caller said.
“For what?’” he responded.
“Everybody dumbfounded about the whole thing,” he said, “because we didn’t hear nothing.”
Police spokesman Officer Joe Avery said the victim’s companions told police he had been at a downtown party. The SUV had a glossy flyer in the window typical of club promotions.
The companions also told police they were driving on South Genessee Street with the victim when they heard two shots and noticed their friend was wounded, according to Avery.
That story did not appear to be checking out, given the lack of evidence of shots fired on the street.
Anyone with info on this shooting can call (203) 946‑6316 or (203) 946‑6304 and ask to speak with a detective.
Some friends! His killers will roam scott-free because these so-called friends are such cowards. Young people, be careful of those you call "friends".