On the evening of May 30, 2021, the life of Semaj Reddick-Streater, an 18-year-old Black / African American male from Hamden, Connecticut, was tragically cut short. A new father who was on the cusp of graduating from ACES Whitney North High School, he was known as a kind, soft-spoken, and respectful young man who left a positive impression on everyone he met.
He had dreams of owning his own business and was even planning a trip overseas with his mother, but these aspirations would never be realized.
That night, just before 9 p.m., Reddick-Streater was leaving the Minute Mart on Circular Avenue in Hamden when a silver Jeep Grand Cherokee approached. Surveillance footage would later show that the vehicle had been following him for several blocks, suggesting he was the intended target. As he left the store, gunfire erupted from the rear passenger side of the Jeep. Struck by a bullet, he was rushed to Yale New Haven Hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later. His death was officially ruled a homicide.
The investigation that followed was extensive. The day after the shooting, police located the Jeep, which had been reported stolen from Norwalk on the day of the killing. A search of the vehicle uncovered crucial evidence: a partially-smoked cannabis cigar tucked inside the rear passenger-side door. Forensic testing of this cigar revealed a DNA profile that matched Lamont Quadir Smith-Reed, a teenager from New Haven. An informant later told investigators that three people had been in the vehicle during the shooting, including Smith-Reed and two other teens, aged 14 and 16.
Almost a year after the murder, in May 2022, police arrested then 18-year-old Lamont Quadir Smith-Reed. He was charged with one count of murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder. The case proceeded through the justice system, and in September 2025, a New Haven Superior Court jury found Smith-Reed guilty on both charges. He is scheduled to be sentenced in December 2025, bringing a measure of accountability for the drive-by shooting that ended a young father's life.
