Pubdate: Mon, 25 Sep 2017
Source: Hartford Courant (CT)
Copyright: 2017 The Hartford Courant
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/IpIfHam4
Website: http://www.courant.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/183
Authors: Kathleen McWilliams and Rebecca Lurye

POLICE: SHOOTINGS THAT LEFT 2 DEAD WERE DRUG-RELATED

Two men were killed in Hartford in a few-hour span Friday into
Saturday.

Six people were shot, two fatally, in separate narcotics-related
shootings in Hartford Friday night and Saturday morning, police said.

As of Sunday morning, victim identifications were being withheld, but
Deputy Police Chief Brian Foley said at least one of the victims was
from out of state.

Foley said the two shootings immediately appeared to be narcotics
related, with heroin, cocaine and other drugs found at the scene.
Police said they believed multiple guns were involved and at least one
of the shootings was described as a "gunfight."

The victims were in their late 20s and 30s, Foley said. Many had
extensive criminal records.

"Many cities are struggling with juvenile offenders; this is not that
type of situation," Foley said at a Sunday morning press conference.
"This is older people with criminal records who are still involved in
narcotics."

In a violent 12 hours for the city, two people were shot, one fatally,
on Hartford's Durham Street Friday night, a second shooting, about two
miles away, left one person dead and three others injured, police
said. The second shooting, which involved men in their late 20s,
appeared to have been a gunfight, police said.

At 7 p.m. Friday, a ShotSpotter notification sent officers to the area
of 16 Durham St., just south of the Blue Hills neighborhood, where
they found two men with gunshot wounds inside a car, Foley said.

The driver had been shot in the back of the head and was pronounced
dead at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center. The other, a
passenger, was grazed in the head but alert when police arrived.

Hours later, at 12:35 a.m.Saturday, a ShotSpotter notification led
police to discover four men lying in the street at 1170 Albany Ave.,
in the city's Upper Albany neighborhood, Foley said.

One of the victims was pronounced dead on the scene and a second, who
was found with a gun in his hand, had a serious eye injury and was in
extremely critical condition, Foley said. The wounded man had a permit
for the gun, he added.

Two other men were taken to St. Francis with gunshot injuries that
were not considered life-threatening.

Police have not identified any of the victims in the two shootings but
said they believe both men in the car were 28 years old. The vehicle
they were in had multiple bullet holes and the back window had been
blown out.

Foley said the bullets were from two different calibers and that the
shots were from close range, leading police to believe more than one
gun was involved.

Foley said the area was a "hot spot location" and an increased police
presence had been put in place prior to Friday's shootings.

"We had noticed a specific increase in gunfire at that neighborhood
- - based on that we had increased our uniform officers and
plainclothes detectives within blocks of where that shooting
occurred," he said.

Mayor Luke Bronin, in a letter to community leaders, said the
shootings occurred "despite the significant extra staffing on patrol"
in uniform officers and plainclothes detectives.

Bronin promised to increase staffing levels in the area for the rest
of the weekend.

Bronin's letter, obtained by The Courant, said the evidence "strongly
suggests that these shootings were drug-related, as many of the
individuals involved were in the narcotics trade, and most had
criminal records."

"While it doesn't appear that the two shootings are related,
detectives are still exploring that possibility," the mayor said.

A spokesman for Bronin confirmed that the letter was sent but did not
comment further.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Matt