HARTFORD, Conn. — Hartford police said they are investigating a homicide of a 19-year-old that happened overnight.
According to police, just before 2 a.m., officers responded to the area of 275 Washington Street on a Shot Spotter activation. The location was across the street from Connecticut Children's Medical Center.
While en route to the scene, Hartford Hospital had notified police that a gunshot victim was dropped off for treatment.
When officers arrived at the hospital, they found a victim had suffered from a single gunshot wound to the upper torso and was pronounced dead an hour later just after 3 a.m.
Police identified the victim as 19-year-old Andres Bonilla of Hartford.
“Of course, nobody wants to see that. It’s upsetting," Lieutenant Aaron Boisvert said. "I mean every homicide is upsetting but it doesn’t get any easier as far as age is concerned”
There has been a significant uptick in shootings in the capital city.
In under 24 hours, Hartford faced three separate shootings, two of which involved teenagers.
Next week, Hartford Police is launching a new Shooting Task Force to combat these crimes.
"[It will] be a dedicated team of officers just dedicated to shootings, non-fatal shootings. Working in conjunction with our homicide team who are doing that anyway," Boisvert said. "We hope that we can drive these numbers down. It’s a proactive approach. We’re hoping to make a difference in these non-fatal shootings and bring these numbers down."
Police said they plan on going through surveillance camera footage from the area to help in Tuesday's investigation. They said they don't believe there is any threat to the public and that the shooting was targeted.
Connecticut Children’s Medical Center said it is working with the police department throughout the investigation.
“Our security team works with campus security with Hartford Hospital, as well as Hartford Police Department, and we take our cues from them to make sure, number one, that the building is safe, and number two, that the campus is safe," the hospital said in a statement.
Hartford Police encouraging anyone with information regarding the case to call the Hartford Police Tip Line at 860-722-TIPS.
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