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Both took place on Saturday, April 10 in Hartford.
The 3-year-old boy, identified as Randell Jones, was shot around 2:25 p.m. Saturday while riding in a vehicle near 182 Nelson St., with his mother, his 4- and 5-year-old siblings, and another man when a shooter in another vehicle began firing bullets at the family’s car, said Lt Aaron Boisvert of the Hartford Police Department.
Caught on city surveillance, the video shows a black Honda Accord pulled alongside the family's vehicle and someone inside began firing multiple shots at the vehicle. No one else in the car was injured.
Randall was initially listed in critical condition, but later died from his injuries, police said.
“Our whole city’s heart breaks for this child and for his family,” Mayor Luke Bronin said. “This is a crime that wounds a community, and we are grieving with the family of this little boy.
The Honda was later found abandoned in Windsor Locks and had been reported stolen, Boisvert said.
"The intended target of this shooting appears to be a male passenger of the victim's vehicle," Boisvert said.
The case remains under investigation, he added.
The 16-year-old boy, identified as Ja’Mari Preston, suffered multiple gunshot wounds in the second shooting around 4:45 p.m., Saturday at 157 Magnolia St., and also was pronounced dead a short time later at an area hospital. Another 17-year-old boy was also injured.
Police believe the incidents are not connected.
Police and city officials are asking anyone who witnessed either incident to contact Hartford police with any information by calling the department tip line at 860-722-8477, where information can be submitted anonymously.
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