Harry Green Hale, a 36-year-old Black man, was caught in a burst of gunfire on the night of May 1, 2019, in Wilmington, Delaware. Shortly after 9:30 p.m., Wilmington police officers patrolling the area heard gunshots near the 2400 block of Pine Street, close to Haynes Park. When officers reached the scene, they found three people suffering from gunshot wounds, turning the quiet spring night into an emergency involving several victims.
Hale had been critically wounded.
Emergency personnel rushed him to a nearby hospital, but his injuries proved fatal, and he died after arriving for treatment. Two other people were also injured in the shooting. An 18-year-old woman was treated at the hospital and later released, while a 31-year-old man remained hospitalized in critical but stable condition during the initial stages of the investigation. Authorities did not publicly identify either surviving victim or explain their relationship to Hale.
The circumstances leading to the gunfire were not made clear in the early reports. Police did not say whether Hale and the other victims had been gathered together, whether they were specifically targeted, or whether the shooting resulted from an argument, retaliation, or another confrontation. Investigators worked to reconstruct what happened from the physical evidence, witness statements, and information from people who had been in the neighborhood that evening.
Hale, who was also known as Harry Green Hale Sr. and by the nickname “Hellrazor,” had been born on February 16, 1983. He was the son of Sheila D. Hale and Harry Green Jr. and had received his early education in Wilmington's public school system. His sudden death left his family and community mourning while detectives continued searching for answers about the violence that took his life.
Police classified the incident as an active homicide investigation and appealed to the public for information, directing potential witnesses to the detective assigned to the case. Publicly available reports do not identify a suspected gunman, provide a description of anyone being sought, or announce an arrest connected to Hale's killing. No reliable public record was located showing that anyone was later charged, tried, or convicted for his death. Based on the information released publicly, the fatal triple shooting remained unresolved, with the identity of the person or people responsible still unknown.
