On the morning of December 4, 2023, Timothy Ross, a 31-year-old Black male from Bloomfield, Connecticut, was shot and killed in a fatal daylight encounter. The incident occurred around 8:50 a.m. in the 500 block of Bloomfield Avenue, near the busy intersection with Cottage Grove Road. Ross, a parent at the nearby CREC Museum Academy, had just been at the school.
He was seated in his car when another vehicle pulled up, and an assailant fired multiple shots into his vehicle.
Wounded, Ross managed to get out of his car in an attempt to find help. He collapsed on the street, where he was discovered by officers. First responders administered aid at the scene before he was rushed to Saint Francis Hospital. Despite their efforts, he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead. The community, particularly the families of the CREC Museum Academy, was left in mourning for the young father, affectionately known as "Cool Q".
The investigation into the shooting quickly identified a suspect vehicle, a white Hyundai Tucson. Bloomfield Police Department detectives, through their investigation, identified 29-year-old Devante Swaby of Peoria, Arizona, as the suspect. An arrest warrant revealed that video footage placed Swaby in the parking lot of the CREC Museum Academy that same morning as Ross was dropping off his child. According to the warrant, Swaby did not have a child at the school. Investigators also believe the gunman discarded his clothes and the weapon shortly after the shooting.
After the homicide, Swaby fled Connecticut and returned to his home state of Arizona. An arrest warrant was secured on December 12, 2023, charging him with murder, criminal use of a weapon, carrying a pistol without a permit, possession of an assault weapon, and weapons in a motor vehicle, with a court-set bond of $5 million. On December 15, members of the U.S. Marshals Violent Fugitive Task Force located and apprehended Swaby at his residence in Peoria. He was held as a fugitive in Arizona before being extradited back to Connecticut in early January 2024 to face the charges. A motive for the shooting has not been publicly released by law enforcement.
