Case of Lynn man murdered 6 years ago remains unsolved

This is a story in a series about cold cases in the city of LynnLYNN – It was nearing 3 a.m. on May 29, 2005 when Hunter Haniff was dropped off at his car on Newhall Street after a night out at a Boston club. He said goodnight to his friend, got into his car and was dead within the hour.Lynn Police Captain Mark O’Toole said 22-year-old Haniff was gunned down by two dark-skinned black males in a green Nissan Maxima while driving on Newhall Street. Wounded and traveling alone, Haniff struggled to drive his Toyota Camry a short distance before he careened off the road and smashed into a home and two other cars.O’Toole said the assailants caught up with Haniff, bleeding profusely and clinging to life in his car, and violently shot him again before getting back in their car and speeding toward Broad Street. For six years, they’ve remained free.”At the time, he (Haniff) was dating at least two women, so it’s believed that he was specifically targeted about a dispute over a woman,” he said. “Also, one of the women he was dating was dating another man who didn’t like Haniff.”Police found Haniff suffering from multiple gunshot wounds and rushed him to Union Hospital, where he died within the hour.Few details are known about the suspects, except that the man who fired the shots into Haniff’s car was described as wearing a yellow long-sleeved shirt, according to witnesses at the scene.”We conducted extensive interviews shortly after the incident and suspected several people, but there wasn’t any evidence to connect them to the shooting,” O’Toole said.Because of the lack of information, O’Toole is once again pleading for the public’s help in cracking the case, just like the department did following the murder.”With the passage of time, we’re hoping someone chooses to cooperate and help,” he said. “We’re also planning on examining ballistic evidence and the State Police database to check if any new firearms have been recovered.”Hunter was from New York and worked at Boston Market. He had been living in Lynn for three years after moving to the city from Jamaica.Anyone with information about this cold case is urged to contact the police at 781-595-2000. Anonymous tips can also be submitted by texting the word tiplynn and the information to tip411. Tips can be sent through the department’s website, www.lynnpolice.org, and click the submit tip icon.