Who Killed Londale Harvey? New Details On Drive-By Unsolved Murder Shooting Of The Ohio Teen
He was only 18 years old.
When homicides go unsolved, it can leave communities on edge and families grief-stricken. And when there are little to no clues, witnesses, or evidence, it makes solving a murder even more difficult. For a city in southwest Ohio, there has been no closure in the four months since young Londale Harvey was murdered.
On January 26th, 2019, Harvey was sitting in his parked car when someone came to his window and shot him several times. Shortly before, he left a barber shop around 1 PM. One shot was also fired into a building, but the victim wasn’t injured.
According to witnesses, the shooting was a drive-by, and the perpetrators circled the block before firing. They also stopped to pick up their shell casings after the shooting. Eight 911 calls were received from people who heard or saw gunshots. One male caller said, “We need an ambulance right now, somebody got killed... my dude’s bleeding out. We was at the barber shop, a car pulled up and shot the whole car up.”
Who killed Londale Harvey? Detectives are still trying to answer that question. But they are confident that this wasn’t a random murder.
Said Hamilton police Chief Craig Bucheit, “It was not a random shooting. He was targeted, and it is an active and ongoing investigation.” Bucheit also indicated that they have made progress on finding the killers: “We are confident we know who is responsible and they are not currently on the street. Hopefully we will be able to bring charges soon.”
Police also indicate that a scanner traffic implicated a black BMW with four men inside. Later, a Volkswagen car was discovered with bullet holes and was roped off as a crime scene.
For Harvey’s family, the heartbreak from the death of the 18-year-old is overwhelming. Sjuwana Springfield, Harvey’s aunt, was out of town when the shooting occurred. She had been caring for her nephew after his mother died last year. She was also the one who had to choose whether or not to keep him on life support.
“Even though it is about Londale now for us, I can also understand the pain of a mother if…they have lost a child or their son or daughter has committed such an act... I watched him take his first breath, and I also had to make the decision for him to take his last breath, meaning I had to make the decision to remove him off (life support),” she said.
Following Harvey’s untimely death, Springfield has made it her mission to find the perpetrators responsible and carry on her nephew’s memory. “Your word is all you have. They got this saying ‘snitches get stitches,’ but would you rather get the stitches or would you rather have it be your son or your daughter next? Because it very well could be. If people can take his life like that in broad daylight and don’t care, they’re not going to care about the next person,” Springfield said, pleading for help from the community.
“He pretty much got along with people. He didn’t deserve this... It’s just a place of emptiness because he was all I had left of her [Harvey’s mother], which was really my everything,” she continued.
Samantha Maffucci is an editor for YourTango who focuses on writing trending news and entertainment pieces. In her free time, you can find her obsessing about cats, wine, and all things Vanderpump Rules.