BRIDGEPORT POLICE UNSOLVED MURDER
THE MURDER OF GENESIS RODRIGUEZ
DATE: JANUARY 22ND, 2002
TIME: 1457 (REPORTED TO POLICE)
LOCATION: 184 Park Street, Bridgeport, Connecticut.
CAUSE OF DEATH: GUNSHOT WOUND TO BACK OF HEAD
MANNER OF DEATH: HOMICIDE
VICTIM: GENESIS JOSEPH RODRIGUEZ 6-21-1977
By Christopher J. Lyons
On January 22nd, 2002 a little before 3 pm Bridgeport Police received a 911 call of a shooting at 184 Park Street. An off duty officer in the area heard the gunshot and went to the scene and arrived as marked units arrived. Police immediately observed a Hispanic male lying on the sidewalk, he had a bullet wound to the back of his head and was dead on scene. This incident caused a large crowd to gather and caused police to call additional officers for crowd control.
Police did an extensive and intensive investigation at the time of the incident. They interviewed many area residents and found that many people heard a single gunshot around the time that the call was made to police. Police also received several descriptions of suspects and were met by a witness to the crime. The victim of this crime was quickly identified as Genesis Joseph Rodriguez, 6-21-1977, a 24-year-old male from 1590 Stratford Avenue in Bridgeport.
The witness was a friend of the victim. He told police that right before the victim had been shot that they were walking on Park Street. The witness told police that he stopped to “roll a blunt”, street slang for a marijuana cigarette and was behind. This witness told police that he observed an African-American male run toward the victim, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and black pants. The witness told police that he heard a gunshot, saw his friend Genesis fall to the ground and also observed the shooter flee on foot north on Park Street and away from the crime scene. The witness fled the scene to the Caribe Market and called 911 to tell the police and then returned back to the scene of the crime. The witness, stayed on scene and tried to assist police. He could not identify the shooter and could only give that clothing description. Police interviewed him and many other people on the date of the crime but could not get enough suspect information to make an arrest.
Police began to investigate the life of the victim to try to find out why anyone would want to shoot and kill him. They found out a lot of information and several motives as to why someone would want to kill him.
Possible reasons.
1. The victim had been identified as being a participant in several area home invasions in Norwalk, Stamford and Portchester, NY.
2. The mother of his children was robbed at gunpoint on January 20th, 2002 by two Hispanic males while cashing a check. The crime was never reported to police and it is possible that the two robbers did a pre-emptive strike on the victim before he could exact revenge.
3. Prior to his murder, persons stating that they were Latin Kings (gang) warned several people that, the victim should not be in the company of a certain woman because she was believed to have set up one of their members in a 2000 murder at the Caribe Market.
4. The victim broke up a fight between a friend and a group of other men prior to the murder and this angered people involved in the fight.
5. Police received info that the victim was involved in Latin King gang activity.
Genesis Rodriguez was shot to death in a daytime shooting as he walked on Park Street, Bridgeport. He was unable to flee the scene because he was in a cast from having a broken leg. His murder was done in a high pedestrian and traffic area in the City of Bridgeport and police need more help from the community to solve this crime. It is 13 years old and it is time to solve this crime.
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