Mom Loses 2nd Son To Street Violence

Dontae Myers with mom Laquvia Jones.

New Haven’s first homicide victim of 2023 was the brother of New Haven’s first homicide victim of 2020 — killed less than two months after his mother pleaded with a room full of potential shooters to stop the cycle of deadly violence.

The latest homicide occurred on Grand Avenue between Poplar Street and Blatchley Avenue Sunday around 3:13 p.m., according to police spokesperson Officer Scott Shumway. Officers found 23-year-old Dontae Myers lying there; an ambulance crew took him to the hospital, where he later died.

Dashown Myers.

Dontae’s brother Dashown Myers was shot to death on Quinnipiac Avenue on Feb. 23, 2020 at the age of 18, also that year’s first homicide.

Chief Karl Jacobson said Monday that police believe Dontae Myers was targeted, that his homicide was not a random act. Asked if the two brothers’ homicides are connected in any way, Jacobson replied, It’s too early in the investigation to tell.” So far police have no information pointing to a connection, he added.

I moved out of town after my first son got killed, trying to protect my second son,” Dontae’s mother, Laquvia Jones, told the Independent Monday. You can do everything in your human power to try and protect your kids, but God has the final say.”

She described Dontae as a loving kid” who had three children who now have to grow up without a father.”

Jones participated in November in a call-in” organized by Project Longevity, the city-state-federal initiative that targets young people most at risk of getting shot or committing shootings. She pleaded with the group to think not just about themselves but about the impact of their actions on others, according to one person present. She also spoke about how when other people make resolutions each New Year’s Day, she’s mourning the loss of her son.

I was trying to help them to understand that it’s not just the person that they killed. It’s the family, the friends, the community that’s behind them,” Jones said Monday.

Officer Shumway asked witnesses who have not yet spoken with police to call detectives at 203 – 946-6304 or the anonymous tip line at 1 – 866-888-TIPS(8477); or to email to ECIC@newhavenct.gov.

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