The parents of a four-month-old baby have been shot and killed following a dispute with a neighbour about a dog.
Christina Dang, 27, and Chase Garrett, 39, of Hartford, Connecticut, were killed in a driveway on Father’s Day in what the mayor said was a “minor personal dispute” that took place just after 9pm.
The parents were pronounced dead at the scene and a third victim – a woman who lived at the same address – was taken to hospital in a critical condition.
On Monday, Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin said: “This is a tragic series of events, and it is heartbreaking to think that two people have lost their lives, and a third person remains in critical condition, because of a minor personal dispute that escalated into violence.’
He added that a “very painful and especially tragic element” is the presence of the baby “who we now believe is an orphan”.
Ms Dang’s older sister Julie told NBC that she “was a beautiful soul full of life”. Ms Dang had given birth in February.
“She was a mother to a 4-month-old, Chosen, and she lost her life over a senseless argument,” she said. “It’s hard for a child to lose two parents on the same night and on Father’s Day, a day that should be loved.”
Police said that following the shooting, the baby has been put in the custody of the Department of Children and Families.
As of Tuesday morning, police have said that a vehicle has been seized that they think served as a getaway vehicle. While a person of interest has been identified, no suspects have been reported to be in custody.
Police added that they hadn’t previously responded to an argument between the neighbours.
“This is the continuation of a very, very distressing trend that we are seeing not just in Hartford, but around the state and around the country… which is minor personal disputes escalating with incredible speed into violence. And the presence of guns then turns those disputes fatal,” Mr Bronin said, adding that for the child “life changed forever because a minor dispute about a dog turned into a tragic shooting”.
Family members of the couple say they moved to Hartford to be closer to Mr Garrett’s family and raise their child.
Olivia Anderson, Ms Dang’s cousin, told NBC that “she was trying to do better for herself and for her family”.
