Police seek public’s help to ID suspect in Sunday morning slaying in Meriden
By Zach Murdock
Meridenpolice are asking for the public’s help to identify a suspect in one of the two slayings in the city last weekend.
A security camera captured video of an unknown manwhompolicebelieve mayhavebeeninvolved in the fatal shooting early Sunday morning of 34-year-old Eric Schoonover, police said Friday.
Schoonover was found dead on Foster Court around sunrise Sunday. Investigators believe he may have been shot earlier in the morningnearbyonGroveStreet, where police received a report of shots firedandtwocarsspeeding off but initially could not corroborate the report.
The security camera footage shows a man in a sweatshirt with dark hair, glasses andawaist bag slung over his right shoulder at about 1:45 a.m. Sunday. Police have not explicitly said whether they believe he was the shooter that morning or where the video was captured.
Meriden police hope a member of the public will recognize the man and contact with police at 203-6306252.
“Any and all information is helpful,” Lt. Christopher Fry said.
Schoonover’s killing was the second murder of the weekend, just 24 hours after Michael Joseph Brown, 20, was shot early Saturday morning at a gas station on South Broad Street.
In that case, police also responded to the scene and could not locate any victims, though they did locate evidence of the shooting, police have said. A short time later Brown and another man arrived at a nearby hospital, whereBrownsuccumbedtohisinjuriesandtheother man was treated for a wound to his leg.
Investigators have said that shooting was between members of rival gangs that have targeted one another, but they have not released any indication about the circumstances of Schoonover’s death.
Zach Murdock can be reached at zmurdock@ courant.com.