DOVER, Del.- Dover police are investigating an early Friday morning shooting that left a 19-year-old man dead, less than 24 hours after Delaware's governor acknowledged recent violence in the city.
Police said that just before 3 a.m., officers responded to a report of shots fired at Country Club Apartments off of Forrest Avenue.
Officers were told that there was a person lying in an area near Q Building of the apartment complex. Officers located Jamil Green, 19, of Dover, who had been shot multiple times. Green was unconscious at the time he was located and pronounced dead on the scene my EMS.
Master Corporal Mark Hoffman, a spokesman for the Dover Police Department, said there have been seven shooting incidents in the city so far this year, including the two fatalities. Last year, Dover police handled 50 shooting incidents that resulted in five deaths, compared to 31 shooting incidents and four deaths in 2018. In response to the increase in shootings, police have stepped up patrols, including extra-duty patrols in high crime areas. Hoffman also noted that Dover police have been working with outside law enforcement agencies to compare findings in similar incidents and, as of Friday morning, began partnering with Delaware State Police to combat violent and gang-related crime. On Thursday, Democratic Gov. John Carney spoke of the state's partnership with local authorities to try to reduce violent crime in Wilmington, Delaware's largest city. The Group Violence Intervention initiative is aimed at helping those at high risk of both committing violent crime and becoming victims of violence avoid involvement in the criminal justice system by offering them social support services. "We're challenging them to put down their guns and offering an alternative to a life of crime and violence," Carney told state lawmakers. “We need a similar approach here in our capital city.”
The investigation into this homicide - the city's second homicide of the year - is ongoing and anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact the Dover Police Department at 302-736-7130.
Callers may remain anonymous. Tips may also be submitted to law enforcement through Delaware Crime Stoppers at 800-TIP-3333 or online at delawarecrimestoppers.com; a cash reward of up to $1,000 is possible for information leading to an arrest.
