In the early afternoon of May 20, 2024, the life of Peter Arroyo, a 42-year-old Hispanic man from New Haven, Connecticut, was tragically cut short. Just after 12:30 p.m., the sound of gunfire echoed near the intersection of Wolcott and Ferry Streets. Police, alerted by the city's ShotSpotter system and multiple 911 calls, arrived to a grim scene. They found Arroyo on the ground, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was rushed to Yale New Haven Hospital, but his injuries proved fatal.
The state medical examiner would later rule his death a homicide.
Peter Arroyo was a father and a grandfather who, according to his family, was actively working on bettering himself for his children and grandchildren. Described as a family man who lived for his kids, his sudden death left his loved ones in shock. His daughter acknowledged that her father wasn't perfect, but he was striving to get his life to where he wanted it to be when he was killed. Family members remembered him as a lover of bachata music, who enjoyed both dancing to it and playing it on his guitar. They said he was not the intended target of the shooting.
The investigation into Arroyo's death led detectives to surveillance footage that captured the entire incident. The video showed a man dressed in all black, including a hoodie and a hat, as he approached a group of people that included Arroyo, who were standing near a black pickup truck. The man was then seen pulling a firearm from his waistband and firing several shots. Arroyo was struck and fell to the ground immediately.
Through their investigation, police identified the suspect as 29-year-old Jaquarius Carter. An arrest warrant was secured on July 12, but authorities soon discovered that Carter had fled the state of Connecticut. Working with U.S. Marshals, investigators tracked him to Riverdale, Georgia, where he was apprehended on July 23. Carter was extradited back to Connecticut in early August to face charges of murder, criminal possession of a firearm, and carrying a pistol without a permit. He is being held on a $2.5 million bond. While the arrest brought some relief to Arroyo's family, they acknowledged that it could never fill the void left by his absence.
