Video courtesy of Doing It Local
One man is dead and another in critical condition after a robbery attempt Friday night at Grand Pizza at Grand and Main Street in the Hollow. Oscar Martin-Refugio, 19, of Main Street, died from a gunshot wound to the head, according to city spokesman Av Harris. Humberto Barrera, 41, is in critical condition in St. Vincent’s Medical Center. The victims were employees of the establishment. It was the city’s 18th homicide of 2015.
Police are searching for two suspects who gained entry from the rear. The owner apparently fled and the suspects opened fire on two employees.
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There have been three murders in this area in the past six months.
*** Time for the Joe haters to blame the new Mayor for lack of police presence in the Hollow! ***
I do not think anyone believes Ganim is responsible as Mayor Finch was not responsible. What a sad sad situation. Robbing a pizza place. The value of life, for what?????????
Steve,
I’m surprised you didn’t mention the food. That’s one of the best pizza joints in the city.
No. It’s not Joe’s fault but is he going to apologize to Bill Finch and Chief Gaudett for blaming them for the spate of violent crime during primary time?
But Troll, under Finch crime was never lower, right? That was his mantra, at least, after just about every shooting.
Finch was just like Rahm Emanuel, the Mayor of Chicago, with crime. Delay and hide results and that’s why the voters there want him out of office, but Bridgeport got rid of Finch.
And Joe mocked Finch and Gaudett from his combination campaign HQ/Post HQ. From his fence repair business to his photo ops at Beardsley Terrace, to the Hollow, to the East End. And what does Joe have to show for all this?
Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Just like Bill Finch; talk is cheap.
Troll, what does he have to show for all this? He got elected.
And the shootings and the violence goes on. He has nothing to show for all of his tough talk and PR stunts.
Troll, what would you do if you were mayor? He’s been mayor for three weeks.
Lennie, okay we can’t blame as much as Joe can blame Bill Finch. There has been over 150 shootings so far; 18 killings and a few who came close to death. How soon will it be Lennie that we see Mayor Joe Ganim call out the Police Chief on this?
Oh wait, I’m wrong. Joe is spending more on police protection. He hired a second Chief of Police.
A tragedy has occurred. The election is over. Move on.
If mayors past and present had done more to provide jobs and education to Bridgeport’s young people, then maybe, just maybe, this sort of thing would be a rare occurrence.
Kid, you are absolutely right with your observation on the lack of jobs and the murder rate. Bridgeport’s annual average unemployment rate increased from 8.0% in 1980 to 9.2% in 1990, a 15% increase. During those years there were between 45 to 50 murders per year culminating with 62 murders in 1990.
I’m not trying to justify the senseless killing of innocent people just trying to make a living, what I am saying is there is a cause and effect and the lack of jobs is the cause and senseless murders is the effect.
DD, you sure drug addiction of the perpetrators was more of the cause than unemployment?
Joel,
There a a proven causative relationship between high unemployment, poor education and crime. No jobs and people will resort to crime. If people haven’t been taught good conflict resolution skills they will resort to violence to settle disputes. The escalating violence in Bridgeport can be laid at the feet of every mayor of the past 30 years. Stagnant job growth, deteriorating schools, etc.
When social welfare programs were established in the early 1930s it was intended to give the less fortunate the other leg up. It has devolved into a culture of dependency, hopelessness and despair. The gangs dealing drugs and weapons can’t be blamed, in a way. They are only trying to empower themselves.
Here’s an 18-year-old with a job working hard and
Maybe if Ganim would have already ousted Chief Barney Fife and put in a real Chief with ideas, we can have real community policing in place. Gaudett is a waste of a uniform, spineless Finch puppet and needs to be gone pronto!
Sorry, replacing the chief will do a lot of things but it won’t help community policing until we can get the manpower where it belongs and under the civil service and the police training division we can only train 40 new officers at a time. Now you know and I know that’s a bunch of baloney.
We also need a real civil service director who is trained in that field to run civil service. We need a strong civil service commission and a strong police commission if we are to get better.
*** I’m not blaming Joe but it seems every time something crazy like this happens, people blame the sitting Mayor, no? ***