Police are seeking the public's help in identifying the person who shot and killed a market employee in the North End of Bridgeport Wednesday morning and said that they don't believe robbery was the motive.
Surveillance video captured a man wearing a black ski mask walking into the store with his right hand in his pocket. From the moment he entered the store, he was looking to the right in the direction of a store clerk. The footage later shows the man sprinting from the store, around the corner, through a parking lot and down a nearby street. Police have released the footage with the hope that someone in the public will recognize the man.
Officers responded to a report of gunfire at T. Market, located at 1482 Reservoir Ave., around 8 a.m. after a 911 call and found a male employee who had been shot in the torso.
The victim, a store employee identified as Hakeem Joseph, 32, of Bridgeport, was rushed to St. Vincent’s Hospital in very serious condition, but died of his injuries.
According to police, a person with a mask came into the store, fired several gunshots at Joseph at the store and fled. Police said Wednesday morning that the victim was shot several times, but said later that several shots were fired, but the victim was hit once.
"It's a very sad day for the city of Bridgeport. We lost a good man today, a young man for no good apparent reason," Bridgeport Police Chief Joseph L. Gaudett Jr. said at a press conference Wednesday afternoon. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Hakeem Joseph and I promise them that we will not rest until we can bring the suspect to justice."
Police reviewed surveillance footage of the shooting and said it doesn't show an attempted robbery, but investigators aren't ruling anything out. There is no information at this time to suggest the shooting was gang-related, according to Gaudett Jr.
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According to initial reports, the shooter was wearing a dark gray or black hooded sweatshirt and tan camouflage pants, city officials said.
The suspected shooter was seen running on Trumbull Avenue toward Fiske Avenue and remains at large, police said.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the victim’s family,” Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch said in a statement. “Violence is at the lowest level in 40 years in Bridgeport. That doesn’t make today any easier for the community or for me. A man senselessly lost his life, and detectives are working nonstop to find the person responsible.”
This was the second homicide in Bridgeport in 2015, according to the mayor's office.
The case remains under investigation and police working to release the surveillance footage to the public to see if anyone can identify the suspect.
Police ask anyone with information to contact Det. Robert Winkler at 203-581-5224.
