CT man pleads guilty in slaying of teen who was walking home from high school

A Connecticut man has pleaded guilty to a murder charge in the case of a high school freshman who was gunned down on a hiking trail while he was walking home from school, state authorities said.

As a result of a plea agreement, Jenigh Ward, 20, of Hamden, will face a total sentence of 35 years in prison when he is sentenced in New Haven Superior Court on August 12, 2024, state authorities said.

Authorities said Elijah Gomez was killed on May 9, 2022. Hamden officers responded to a report of shots fired at about 2:30 p.m. May 9 on the Farmington Canal Linear Park, near Treadwell Street, police said. The officers found a gunshot victim on the canal line and despite first responders’ efforts, he was pronounced dead at the scene, police said at the time.

Gomez was a freshman at Hamden High School. The shooting was “captured on nearby surveillance cameras and showed that Ward — along with two unidentified individuals” — followed Gomez as he walked home from school. “Ward shot Gomez multiple times and fled the scene. He was identified by area surveillance cameras, as well as his car, clothing, and ballistic evidence recovered from his bedroom that matched the type recovered from the scene of the shooting,” authorities said.

State’s Attorney John P. Doyle, Jr. said he was grateful to the Hamden Police Department for their investigation of the case, which is ongoing. “Ward’s senseless act of violence ended the life of 15 year-old Elijah as he was innocently walking home from school. While Ward will be held accountable, we are actively investigating the identities of the other two individuals involved,” Doyle said in a statement.

Anyone having information related to the identities of the two unknown suspects involved in the case are asked to contact the Hamden Police Department’s Major Crimes Unit at (203) 230-4040.