Hartford has its second daytime homicide in less than 24 hours; suspect in second shooting turned himself in
A 24-year-old man was shot and killed Saturday afternoon, making it the second daytime homicide in less than 24 hours in Hartford.
Police said that a suspect is in custody from Saturday’s shooting, turning himself in to police. The victim was transported to St. Francis Hospital in a private vehicle and later pronounced dead. Hartford police said the incident took place between 1-1:15 p.m.
Police have not released the names of either person involved in the shooting yet. The shooting appears to have taken place near 3395 Main Street, police said.
A few hours later, another shooting took place on I-91 South near the Jennings Road exit not far from the scene of the earlier shooting. It is unclear if the shootings are connected.
A person was injured in the highway shooting and transported to the hospital. No other details were available.
The homicide was the second in two days.
A 21-year-old Hartford man was fatally shot Friday morning outside a home on Fairfield Avenue just after 11 a.m., police said.
Alexis Ortiz was transported to Hartford Hospital but died 45 minutes later, according to Hartford police Lt. Paul Cicero.
The shooting in the southwest neighborhood prompted lockdowns at two nearby schools and a day care as the city’s tactical Emergency Response Team responded to clear a home that several potential suspects had retreated into, Cicero said.
The two fatal shootings now leave Hartford with 17 homicides this year.
The city’s ShotSpotter gunshot detection system registered three separate activations Friday at 11:04 a.m. on Fairfield Avenue, and police believe about 11 rounds were fired.
The first police officer on the scene Friday was off-duty patrol Officer Kiana Walker, who has been with the department for just 18 months, Cicero said. She was on her way to a private duty assignment in the area when she heard the gunshots and got out of her car to canvass the area.
A civilian who had found Ortiz on the ground near the multifamily home at 267 Fairfield Ave. called Walker over to help, and she saw at least one possible suspect retreat into that home, Cicero said. Ortiz had multiple gunshot wounds.
As on-duty police responded to the scene, nearby Hyland Day Care Center, E.B. Kennelly School and Bellizzi Middle School were all placed on lockdown for several hours while officers worked to secure several potential suspects.
The department’s Emergency Response Team, which is similar to a SWAT team, also responded to secure the scene and clear the home that the suspects had fled into, Cicero said. Several homes on the block were evacuated as a precaution, and a CT Transit bus was brought in for those people to stay in while the situation was still active, he added.
Courant staff writers Christine Dempsey and Zach Murdock contributed to this story.
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