On July 23, 2023, at approximately 11:00 pm ShotSpotter alerted to (16) rounds discharged within the 300 block of Orchard Street and another (4) rounds discharged within the 300 block of Spring St. A few minutes later the Bridgeport Police Emergency Operations Center received reports of a person shot in the ear within the 200 block of Orchard Street. Police and medics responded to the area and located an 8-year-old child suffering from an injury to his ear. The victim and his mother were transported to an area hospital where the 8-year-old child was treated for a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to the ear. The mother was uninjured. Both were visiting family residing on the eastside of Bridgeport when they overheard multiple gunshots and realized the child was injured. The family was visiting from central NY state.
The Bridgeport Police Department’s Detective Bureau responded and took charge of the investigation. Chief of Police Roderick Porter has made it exceedingly clear that the Bridgeport Police Department will not tolerate gun violence in the community we serve. In early October 2023, Detective Jeff Holtz and Detective Keith Hanson became the lead investigators for this shooting. They promptly developed their first suspect. That suspect has been identified as 23-year-old Jayden I. Robertson of Bridgeport CT.
On October 12, 2023, Jayden I. Robertson was arrested by members of the Bridgeport Police Task Force in connection with a separate narcotics investigation on Orchard Street. That narcotics investigation came under the direct supervision of Bridgeport Police Sergeant Michael Paoletti. Robertson remains in custody with the CT Department of Corrections.
A habeas corpus petition was filed with the court on October 16, 2023. On October 17, 2023, Jayden I. Roberston was arrested and charged for the July 23, 2023, Orchard Street shooting of an 8-year-old child. The charges are Assault in the 1st Degree with a Firearm, Carrying a Pistol without a Permit, Illegal Discharge of a Firearm, and Risk of Injury to a Child. Robertson was given a $200,000 bond and will be arraigned in Fairfield County Superior Court today.
This is an open/active investigation and additional arrests are expected. Anyone with information about this crime is asked to contact the case officer, Homicide Detective Keith Hanson, at 203 581-5243.