On the evening of May 4, 2024, the life of 19-year-old Lavante Tae Jaylan Brown, a Black/African American male from Hartford, Connecticut, was tragically cut short. Known to his loved ones as "Tae," he was attending a small house party with about 10 to 12 other young people at an apartment building on Hendricxsen Avenue. The gathering, where most attendees knew one another, took a devastating turn when gunfire erupted.
Around 10:30 p.m., multiple 911 calls reported shots fired at the
location. When Hartford police arrived, they discovered a grim scene in the stairwell of the building. Lavante and another teenager, 16-year-old Aydin Davis of Bloomfield, were found unresponsive with gunshot wounds. Both were rushed to Hartford Hospital, but their injuries proved fatal, and they were pronounced dead. The loss was deeply felt at Weaver High School, where Lavante was a student. School staff remembered him as a quiet but intelligent young man who was on track to graduate in the spring and was looking forward to his future.
The investigation into the double homicide proceeded as the community mourned the senseless loss of two young lives. Authorities interviewed several of the party attendees, who were reportedly cooperative with the police. The impact on the families of both victims was immense, with relatives finding themselves in a state of shock and devastation. Organizations like Mothers United Against Violence stepped in to support the grieving families, and the school district's Crisis Intervention Team was made available to help students and faculty cope with the tragedy.
A significant development in the case came on May 29, 2024, when law enforcement, with the assistance of U.S. Marshals, arrested a suspect in connection with the fatal shooting. James Chaney, a 25-year-old man from Plainville, was taken into custody and charged with murder and reckless endangerment for the deaths of Lavante Brown and Aydin Davis. He was held on a $1 million bond.
