Police are investigating the Hartford’s 18th homicide of the year — the shooting death of 23-year-old Roberto Vargas near 279 Farmington Ave., shortly after 2:45 a.m. Saturday.
Detectives said the city’s Shot Spotter system detected gunfire on Farmington Avenue near Laurel Street in the Asylum Hill neighborhood. Patrol officers found Vargas on the pavement with multiple gunshot wounds to the chest. Medics took him to St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center. He was pronounced dead later Saturday morning.
Sgt. Anthony Rykowski said Vargas knew his assailant and the shooting was not a random attack.
Vargas had lived in the immediate area, detectives said.
Vargas was convicted in 2016 of selling narcotics, carrying a pistol without a permit and violating probation. He received a 30-month jail sentence and three years of probation, state court records show. In August of 2018, he was convicted of second-degree robbery, aided by another. He received three more years of probation, the records show.
Later Saturday, shortly after 11 a.m., Shot Spotter also detected gunfire on Windsor Street near Boce Barlow Way, in north Hartford.
Patrol officers reported finding five shell casings in the street. There were also multiple cars involved in a crash at the location. Police taped off the area and were gathering witness accounts of a possible exchange of gunfire between people in two cars.
Lt. Aaron Boisvert said police officers are being moved from day shifts to evening and overnight tours in response to “the highest time when we see violent incidents occurring.”
It has been a turbulent summer on the streets of the capital city, and Saturday’s homicide follows a particularly violent month. There were six homicides in July, making it the deadliest month in Hartford in more than four years, a Courant review of city data showed.
The spike in violence has drawn attention to the city this summer. At the end of July, Gov. Ned Lamont said additional state resources would go to help the city tackle the problem.
New Haven and Bridgeport also were offered state assistance as they grapple with similar violence.
Josh Kovner can be reached at jkovner@courant.com.
![By LOLITA C. BALDOR (Associated Press) WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is expected to announce Friday that it will provide about $6 billion in long-term military aid to Ukraine, U.S. officials said, adding that it will include much sought after munitions for Patriot air defense systems. The officials said the aid package will be funded […]](https://www.courant.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Russia_Ukraine_War_Military_Aid_93722.jpg?w=536 "By LOLITA C. BALDOR (Associated Press) WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is expected to announce Friday that it will provide about $6 billion in long-term military aid to Ukraine, U.S. officials said, adding that it will include much sought after munitions for Patriot air defense systems. The officials said the aid package will be funded […]")
