Lamar Griffiths: Heartbroken family's three year wait for justice after fatal shooting

On March 29, 2022, the life of Lamar Leroy Griffiths was cut tragically short after he suffered fatal injuries when multiple gun shots were fired at Diamond Hand Car Wash in the Burngreave area of Sheffield.

He was just 21-years-old.

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Last June, two men were jailed at Sheffield Crown Court for assisting Lamar’s killer, but the people responsible for his death have still not been brought to justice.

Abdul Hakim, then aged 26, of Cardwell Drive, Sheffield, was jailed for a total of seven years and eight months for assisting an offender and arson, as well as possessing an offensive weapon in a public place in relation to a separate incident.

Nasser Nashir, then aged 33, of Kirton Road, Sheffield, was jailed for five years for assisting an offender.

South Yorkshire Police revealed the pair destroyed evidence relating to the offence and helped two murder suspects flee the country.

The force vowed to do everything within their power to bring those Nashir and Hakim helped before the UK Courts.

As the third anniversary of Lamar’s untimely death approaches, detectives implore anyone with information to come forward.

A South Yorkshire Police spokesperson said: “We want to implore anyone who may have seen what happened to get in touch so we can secure justice for Lamar's loved ones.

“We cannot imagine the pain they must have endured and must still be going through after losing Lamar at such a young age.”

Speaking shortly after his death, Lamar’s heartbroken mum, Monique Bate, revealed that he had been on his way to visit his grandma when a gun was fired at a car his was inside at the time.

She said her son had been walking to his grandma’s, spotted a friend’s car at the Diamond Hand Car Wash on Burngreave Road, Burngreave, and he went over to see his pal and got inside his blue BMW.

Minutes later, he was shot dead. Nobody has yet been charged in connection with the killing.

Lamar had no criminal record or was not even ‘known to the police,’ his shattered mum revealed. He was, his mother says, in the wrong place at the wrong time.

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“That bullet was never meant for him,” she said. “The shooter was aiming at that car, but he was just in the passenger seat.”

Monique was on the phone to her son half an hour before the shooting. He chatted about what a nice day it was and where he was walking to.

When he passed the car wash, he saw a friend he knew from school and got into his car. A single bullet hit him in his chest.

Monique is determined for Lamar not to have died in vain and has launched a campaign to try to combat gang violence and bridge the gap in male mental health provision in Sheffield.

“Six weeks after I buried him I decided I wanted Lamar to have a legacy,” Monique said in the wake of her son’s death. “I want to turn his pain into power and his power into purpose.

“Lamar was a fighter. He was so family orientated. He was the light and soul of the family.

“He needs a legacy because his light was so bright. He left such a beautiful energy. I'm so blessed he was my son.

“He was a reader, he loved maths, he loved football - but one thing he was passionate about was he wanted to get kids off the streets.”

Anyone with information in connection with the death of Lamar and the ongoing murder investigation should call 101, quoting incident number 774 of March 29, 2022.