Police investigating shooting deaths of 3-year-old, teenager

HARTFORD — As detectives continued to search Sunday for suspects in the killing of a 3-year-old city boy and 16-year-old from New Britain, city officials are pressing witnesses to come forward and help.

In at least one of the shootings, police officials said they knew a number of witnesses were in the area and “pleaded” they come provide information to investigators.

Police have yet to publicly identify suspects in either shooting, and could not offer a motive late Saturday.

“These crimes tear families apart and they wound a whole community,” said Mayor Luke Bronin. “And we have to stand together not just to help our police solve these crimes but to do everything we can to solve this kind of senseless violence.” As the investigations continued, police identified the 16-year-old victim Sunday as Ja’Mari Preston of New Britain. They said Preston was shot multiple times on the 100 block of Magnolia St. He was transported to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Police officials initially said that the victim was 17 years old.

Officers rushed to the area around 4:46 p.m. after the city’s ShotSpotter system picked up gunfire. They found Preston with “numerous gunshot wounds.”

Preston was a student at Capitol Region Education Council school district.

“CREC is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of our student Ja’Mari Preston. During his time at CREC, he endeared himself to many staff and students who are devastated by his sudden and tragic death.” said Greg Florio, CREC’s executive director, in a statement.

Florio said the district has organized virtual grief counseling and support starting Sunday for the school community and the family.

At the time of the shooting on Magnolia Street, a number of officers and detectives were about a mile away on Nelson Street investigating a drive-by shooting that killed 3-year-old Rondell Jones.

Officers first responded to Nelson Street around 2:25 p.m. for a separate ShotSpotter system report of gunfire in the area. While there, officers were notified by a nearby hospital that a 3-year-old victim had arrived by private vehicle with gunshot wounds, according to police.

The child, later identified as Rondell, was initially listed in critical condition, but later died at the hospital, police said.

Thus far, police officials said it does not appear that the shootings were connected, but cautioned late Saturday that it was too early to say for certain.

The shooting on Nelson Street was caught on surveillance camera. Police said the passenger of a black Honda Accord opened fire on another vehicle before fleeing down Nelson Street.

Members of an auto theft task force later found the car, stolen from Windsor Locks, unoccupied. Police declined to say where the stolen vehicle was located.

Officials said that the victim’s mother, along with two other children, ages 4 and 5, were in the car that was fired on, but were uninjured.

Another individual in that vehicle, believed to be the intended victim of the drive-by shooting, fled and police have yet to locate him.

“Our whole city’s heart breaks for this child and for his family,” Bronin said during a press conference that evening. “This is a crime that wounds a community, and we are grieving with the family of this little boy.”

Both Bronin and police Chief Jason Thody committed the city’s law enforcement resources to finding the who killed Rondell.

“One thing we know is that there were several witnesses out there, so we are encouraging and pleading anyone with information regarding this incident is encouraged to contact the police department,” Thody said.

Police have yet to make an arrest in either case, and did not say what may have motivated the shootings.

Ahead of the shootings, Thody said the department had already launched initiatives to decrease violent crime in the city.

“We initiated our efforts early this year. There are a tremendous amount of police officers out there from both plainclothes and uniformed officers,” Thody said.

On Saturday, the department already had planned details including state police and staff from the Department of Motor Vehicles, who were assisting city police officers.

“We are continuing to patrol the streets and working to solve both of these crimes,” Thody said.

Mothers United Against Violence, a community group active in the city, has planned a prayer vigil for Rondell on Monday night at the nearby intersection of Garden and Capen streets.

“For Hartford, this is the 7th gun-violence death in Hartford in 2021. For this family, the death of little Rondell is not just a number or statistic but a loss of a life dear beyond measure,” the group said in a Facebook post.

Police said anyone with information regarding the cases can call the department’s tip line at 860-7228477.