A 56-year-old woman was killed when bullets went through the walls of a home in Hartford as she was cooking Wednesday evening, according to police.
Police said officers first responded just after 5 p.m. for a report of shots fired. When they arrived they found rifle casings on the ground and bullet holes in the wall, windows and door of 28 Sisson Ave.
When no one inside responded to officers' attempts to make contact, they entered and found a woman dead inside the apartment. Police have identified the woman as Sylvia Cordova, 56, of Hartford.
"Very brazen, upsetting. Upsetting. To the residents. To us. Lady was just home in her apartment, cooking. Heartbreaking," Lt. Aaron Boisvert with the Hartford Police Department said.
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Police believe the suspects were driving by when they fired into the apartment. An NBC Connecticut crew at the scene could see multiple bullet holes in the building.
The Major Crimes Division is investigating.
Mayor Luke Bronin said Thursday that investigators have located the weapon believed involved in the shooting, which he described as an assault rifle. It will have to be tested to confirm it is the correct weapon, police said.
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"I do think that that fact that an assault rifle which went through a home and killed a woman in her kitchen cooking dinner demonstrates powerfully why when we talk about the need for an assault weapons ban nationally, it really really matters," Bronin said.
"Whenever there is an assault rifle involved knowing the damage that these assault rifles can inflict, they really ramp it up a notch and within 10 or 11 hours we had within our possession the firearm we believe was responsible for this shooting, so that it is not capable of going any other damage," Hartford Police Chief Jason Thody added.
Thody noted that investigators believe someone else was the target of the attack.
"We believe there was somebody else that was targeted in that area regarding a dispute that had nothing to do with that area. The dispute had to deal with something that evolved earlier in the day and she was truly an unintended victim in this."
Officers are also investigating a deadly double shooting just before 5:30 a.m. on Kent Street. The two victims went to a local hospital to be treated.
One victim, a man in his 20s, had life-threatening injuries and was listed in critical condition. Police said he later died from his injuries. Police have identified him as 22-year-old Trelique Ward, of East Hartford.
The other man involved was also taken to the hospital, where he was in stable condition Wednesday night.
Investigators said they believe this was an exchange of gunfire during a drug deal. The second victim, identified as 35-year-old Aubrey Perry, has been charged with murder and criminal possession of a firearm. He is currently held on a $1.2 million bond.
Police do not believe the two incidents are related.
There have been 18 homicides in the Capitol City so far this year. This time last year, that number was 12.
Hartford police are asking anyone with information to call 860-722-TIPS. Information can be provided anonymously.
