Thomas Breen file photo
Goffe Terrace looking west towards Winthrop Saturday.
Two men were shot and killed in a parked car on Winthrop Avenue Saturday morning, becoming the city’s seventh and eighth homicide victims so far this year.
New Haven Police Department (NHPD) spokesperson Capt. Rose Dell confirmed those shooting deaths in an email press release sent out at 10:42 a.m.
She wrote that, at around 7:55 a.m., police received multiple 911 calls about gunfire in the area of Winthrop Avenue and Goffe Terrace. ShotSpotter also detected nine rounds of gunfire.
“Officers responded and located 2 gunshot victims in a parked vehicle,” Dell wrote. “The male operator was pronounced deceased on scene. The male passenger was taken by ambulance to Yale-New Haven Hospital and was pronounced deceased shortly after being admitted.”
In a followup email press release sent out at 7:26 p.m., Dell identified the passenger who died soon after arriving at the hospital as 27-year-old New Havener Jonathan Garcia. And in a Tuesday morning email press release, Dell identified the driver who died at the scene of the shooting as 40-year-old New Havener Marquis Darnell McNeill.
In that same Saturday evening press release, Dell said that city detectives seized a firearm on scene while collecting evidence.
And she said that investigators “arrested a person of interest, who is currently on parole, and are working with the State’s Attorney’s Office on significant leads in the case. Both victims appear to have been targeted in this incident, and there is no threat to the general public.”
That press release quotes Police Chief Karl Jacobson as praising the officers’ and detectives’ “quick and skillful work in this case. “I detest this senseless loss of life through gun violence,” Jacobson is quoted as saying. “Although we are unable to prevent all crimes, we will devote every resource necessary to bring justice to the victim’s families.”
Police are asking anyone who may have witnessed this crime or who may have information valuable to investigators to call detectives at 203 – 946-6304 or through the department’s anonymous tip-line at 866 – 888-TIPS (8477).
Thomas Breen photo
Winthrop Ave looking north towards Goffe.
Shafiq Abdussabur, a retired former police sergeant and Democratic mayoral challenger vying to unseat two-term incumbent Mayor Justin Elicker in a four-way mayoral primary race this year, sent out a campaign email press release about the double homicide at 9:16 a.m. Saturday.
Abdussabur has long lived on Winthrop Avenue. His family members live nearby too. He said that Saturday morning’s fatal shootings took place a few doors down from where his son lives.
“I’ve been hearing residents’ concerns for their safety for three years now, and there is no question that the current state of the New Haven Police Department does not have the resources or support from the Mayor to effectively solve and prevent crime,” Abdussabur said in that email press release. “It’s more than a simple, “thank you for being a dedicated civil servant.” As Mayor I will support all our employees to accomplish their jobs with adequate resources. Teachers shouldn’t be buying school supplies, cops shouldn’t be overworked, and City Hall shouldn’t have locked doors.”
Elicker, who was at the scene of Winthrop and Goffe earlier Saturday morning and provided a press update alongside police brass about the double homicide, recognized just how “terrifying” this must be for Abdussabur to have these fatal shootings take place so close to where his son lives.
Elicker defended his administration’s “multi-pronged” approach to public safety. “We’ve invested millions of dollars in improving tools police have to” prevent violence. He also noted that city police have taken more than 80 guns off the street and solved seven homicides so far this year.
“We’ve continued to struggle with an increase in violence” just like many cities across the country, Elicker said. He also noted that year over year, overall crime numbers are on the decline.
Saturday morning’s double homicide comes a few weeks after the shooting death of 25-year-old Ramon Yates, who was shot on Dixwell Avenue near West Hazel Street on March 15 and died in the hospital three days later. That in turned followed an exceptionally violent start to 2023. On Jan. 1, a 23-year-old New Haven man named Dontae Myers was shot dead near Poplar Street and Grand Avenue in Fair Haven. On Jan. 6, a 41-year-old West Haven man named Charles Miller was shot and killed on Pond Lily Avenue. On Jan. 7, a 30-year-old New Havener named Kentel Robinson died from injuries he suffered when someone shot him repeatedly on Chapel Street between Beers and Orchard Streets on Jan. 4. On Jan. 18, a 40-year-old man named Alexander Pedraza was shot and killed near River and James Streets in Fair Haven. And in the early hours of Jan. 23, 33-year-old Michael Wint was shot and killed in his car on Whalley Avenue.
Homicides are not down year over year from the last two years of the Harp admin and it’s not our job to hold Justin accountable for other cities. Just this one. Stop making excuses and take ownership. You made decisions that created outcomes, Justin. You are not responsible for all violence in New Haven but some of this lies at your feet. That’s part of the job. Just say, ‘I wish I had done better.’ That’s the first step to learning and a growth mindset.