On May 30, 2020, Joheem Hamilton, a 25-year-old male, was fatally shot in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. The incident occurred just after 2:00 a.m. near 24 Monument Walk, within the Ingersoll Houses complex. Hamilton and another man, aged 36, were walking to a store to get food when they encountered a man who was hanging out in the lobby of the building.
According to evidence presented in court, a brief verbal altercation took place between the man and the two
victims. After the exchange, as Hamilton and his companion walked away, the man left the area, retrieved a firearm, and then laid in wait in a stairwell near the lobby entrance. When Hamilton and the other victim returned, the assailant fired multiple shots at them from point-blank range as their backs were turned. Hamilton was struck in the back and succumbed to his injuries. The second victim was also shot in the back and sustained serious injuries but survived. At the time of his death, Joheem Hamilton was the father of an infant daughter.
On June 16, 2020, Earl Morgan, 54, of Fort Greene, was arrested in connection with the shooting. The family of Joheem Hamilton confronted Morgan as he was being escorted out of the 88th Precinct. He was subsequently charged with second-degree murder, first-degree assault, and criminal possession of a weapon.
Following a jury trial, Earl Morgan was convicted of second-degree murder and first-degree assault on April 26, 2024. On June 14, 2024, a Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice sentenced Morgan to 28 years to life in prison. The Brooklyn District Attorney described the killing as a 'violent and inexplicable shooting of two strangers' that stemmed from a minor verbal dispute.
