The owner of the E&M Smoke Shop at 545 Ferry St. was shot and killed Tuesday afternoon.
At 1:36 p.m., police and EMTs were dispatched to the shop after receiving a report that someone had been shot.
The victim, has been identified Muhanad Jawad 21, of New Haven. Jawad was taken by ambulance to Yale-New Haven Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased around 2 p.m. Jawad was the owner of the shop, according to a press release from police department spokesman Officer David Hartman.
The gunman wore a black shirt or hooded sweatshirt and dark colored black pants. Evidence strongly suggests robbery was not likely to be the perpetrator’s motive, according to the release.
Police were alerted to a vehicle that they suspect could have been involved in the shooting, but have not yet confirmed that to be true. The vehicle was occupied by four people and later determined to be a Honda CRV stolen recently in West Hartford. The vehicle led pursuing officers to Quinnipiac Avenue, where it drove off the roadway and into a house at 904 Quinnipiac Ave.
Three people inside the vehicle were apprehended by arriving officers. One remained at large and was thought to have jumped into the Quinnipiac River marsh. Officers established a perimeter and were able to capture the fourth suspect. Though the two incidents occurred at about the same time, police have not yet determined that they are linked. Those detained are not confirmed to be involved in the shooting, according to Hartman.
The United States Coast Guard had arrived to assist with the search from the river.
Detectives are in the process of both interviewing an eyewitness to the crime and recovering video surveillance as evidence. Anyone who witnessed the crime or who has information valuable to investigators is urged to phone detectives at 203 – 946-6304. Calls may be made anonymously.
