Hempstead fatal shooting victim identified as police seek suspect

Nassau County police on Tuesday identified the man shot and killed near a Hempstead preschool program Friday as Jeffrey Lee of Roosevelt.

Lee, 23, was shot multiple times by an unknown suspect shortly after noon at the intersection of Dartmouth Street and Stewart Avenue, police said. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said.

Nassau County Crime Stoppers and police released a photo of Lee on Tuesday, saying they were seeking the public's help in identifying those involved.

Detectives asked anyone with information about the shooting to contact Crime Stoppers at 800-244-8477. All callers will remain anonymous.

 Lee's mother, Yvonne Fletcher of Roosevelt, said Friday that Lee was her only child and that he left behind a 4-year-old daughter.

"I'm really heartbroken," Fletcher said over the phone as she started to cry. "I need my son back. . . . They shot my son up. Why? They killed my baby. Who's going to tell his daughter?"

The shooting started as a fight with other males, homicide Det. Lt. Stephen Fitzpatrick told News 12 Long Island. It was steps from the site of a Head Start program run by the Economic Opportunity Commission of Nassau County, an antipoverty agency.

With Newsday Staff

By Craig Schneider

craig.schneider@newsday.comScraigo

Craig Schneider is a Long Island native and Stony Brook University alumnus. He joined Newsday as a general assignment reporter in January 2018 after 20 years at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.