On the evening of December 29, 2016, a chilling event unfolded in Plainfield, New Jersey, forever altering the lives of a local family and community. Shamar Coleman, a 32-year-old male, was fatally shot inside his own restaurant, Seafood Rama, located on East Second Street. The brazen attack occurred at approximately 5:45 p.m., a time when the business would have been active. When Plainfield Police Officers arrived at the scene, they discovered Coleman suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
He was pronounced dead at the scene. At the time of the shooting, Coleman was reportedly inside the restaurant speaking with a friend and the friend's 5-year-old daughter, neither of whom were physically harmed in the incident.
In the years that have followed, the investigation into Shamar Coleman's murder has remained active, yet no arrests have been made. The Union County Homicide Task Force and the Plainfield Police Department have continued to investigate the case, periodically releasing information to the public in the hope of generating new leads. Authorities have circulated surveillance footage of a person of interest who was seen near the restaurant around the time of the shooting. This individual was seen exiting and entering the passenger side of a small Volkswagen sedan that had been reported stolen from Newark shortly before the homicide.
The person of interest is described as wearing distinctive clothing: bright blue pants, white sneakers, a dark facial covering, and a two-toned hooded sweatshirt that appeared to be light gray on top and black on the bottom. Despite the circulation of this footage and a reward of up to $10,000 offered by Union County Crime Stoppers for information leading to an arrest, the case remains unsolved. Coleman's family remembers him as a kind and generous man who was known for helping others in the community, often providing food to those in need, regardless of their ability to pay. His death was the city's 12th homicide of that year, the highest in Union County.
