#Bridgeport CT– On March 4, 2023, at approximately 7:25 pm, Bridgeport Police responded to the area of Boston Avenue and Palisades Avenue on a ShotSpotter activation. ShotSpotter is a gunshot detection system. Once gunshots are fired in an area covered by this service, police receive a notification within one minute directing them to the exact location of the gunfire. Citizens also called the Bridgeport Emergency Operations Center reporting numerous shots fired and a person shot.
Within minutes of the ShotSpotter activation, 1st responding Bridgeport Police Officer Sorie Kamara engaged an armed 17-year-old suspect in foot pursuit on Tudor Street. The juvenile suspect was quickly apprehended by Officer Kamara and placed under arrest.
Police officers, along with AMR Ambulance medics, responded to the area and located an unresponsive 36-year-old Flushing NY man lying on the ground next to an apartment building at 1525 Boston Avenue. The victim, a Chinese food delivery driver, suffered numerous gunshot wounds and was pronounced deceased at the scene. Officers secured the crime scene and notified the Detective Bureau (DB).
The DB Homicide Squad took charge of the investigation and Detectives from the Identification Unit processed the scene. Several items of evidence were collected including ballistic evidence. The investigation produced strong leads with the 17-year-old Bridgeport teen becoming a strong person of interest. On March 4, 2023, the juvenile suspect was charged by the Patrol Division with Interfering with a Police Officer, Assault on a Police Officer, and Carrying a Pistol without a Permit. An order to detain was granted.
As a result of relationships built between our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners, the Bridgeport Police Department has equipment in our possession that connects us directly with the ATF’s National Integrated Ballistics Information Network. Better known as NIBIN. This computer system takes detailed 3d images of spent shell casings and puts them into a national database with other ballistic images. NIBIN produced an investigative connection within hours of the homicide. The shell casings collected at the murder scene match the ballistics on the firearm recovered from the 17-year-old suspect.
The 17-year-old juvenile, Justin Castro, was charged this morning with Murder, Criminal Attempt-Robbery in the 1st Degree, and Murder-Commission of Felony. The bond is set at 3 million dollars.
Anyone with additional information regarding this crime is encouraged to call Homicide Detective Keith Hanson at 203-581-5243 or utilize the Bridgeport Police Tips Line at 203-576-TIPS.
