HARTFORD — Police are investigating a homicide that they say took place early Saturday morning.
23-year old Roberto Vargas was identified as the victim in the shooting.
Shaken and heartbroken residents living near Farmington Avenue in Hartford’s Asylum Hill neighborhood say they were shocked to wake up and learn one of their neighbors had been killed.
Lymaris Ramirez says she knew Vargas and said, “This is horrible, because it doesn’t really go too many streets like that… I have two kids and I don’t feel safe.”
Police say 23-year-old Roberto Vargas died from multiple gunshots wounds around 3 a.m.
Ramirez says he was well-known in the community and that his light was taken away too soon.
Ramirez said, “He’s a very good kid he was always at home, if he wasn’t upstairs in his house, he would be downstairs with his wife.
Community leaders say enough is enough.
Reverend Henry Brown said, “Look you got a family over there that is grieving today and if that ain’t enough to stir up somebody I don’t know what is.”
This is the 18th homicide this year, which is four more than this time last year.
Police say cameras are scattered throughout the area and they hope that it will further the investigation, but they say what really helped was the shotspotter system.
Lt. Aaron Boisvert said, “I mean there is investigative work other than that but they are a great tool, they helped us in the past solve quite a bit of crime.”
Residents say the violence is nothing new to this area which is why community leaders say something needs to be done.
“Our people in this community are becoming desensitized to this stuff almost immune like this is expected to happen and think that there is no way out of it,” said Reverend Brown.
