On a Thursday morning in Troy, New York, 24-year-old Dezmon T. Smith, a male visiting from Brooklyn, was fatally shot in what police have described as a targeted attack. The incident, which marked Troy's first homicide of 2017, occurred on March 23rd, around 9:10 a.m. on Sixth Avenue, between Jefferson and Ida streets. Smith was ambushed by two men as he was about to enter a taxi he had called.
The assailants approached the waiting cab, with one positioning himself on the passenger side
while the other was on the driver's side. Multiple shots were fired, and Smith was struck in the torso. Despite his injuries, he managed to get into the back of the taxi. He was quickly transported to Albany Medical Center Hospital, but tragically succumbed to his wounds. The two suspects were seen fleeing the scene on foot, heading south on Sixth Avenue before turning onto Ida Street.
At the time of his death, Smith was in Troy visiting his girlfriend and other friends and family. Described by his mother as a 'mama's boy' who loved to joke around, he was a high school graduate who had attended Baltimore Community College for a year. He had been working in maintenance at a hospital in Brooklyn. His family was left devastated by the sudden and violent loss, with his mother stating there was 'no reason for this.'
The Troy Police Department immediately launched an investigation into the shooting, asserting that they believed Smith was the intended victim of the attack. Investigators sought video footage from the surrounding area to help identify the two men responsible for the ambush. As of the initial reports, no arrests had been made in connection with the murder of Dezmon T. Smith, and the motive behind the targeted killing remained unclear as the investigation continued.
