On the evening of September 14, 2022, a 28-year-old Black / African American man named Devonte Gardner of Waterbury, Connecticut, was fatally shot in East Hartford. The incident occurred around 7:45 p.m. near the intersection of Park Avenue and Garden Street. Responding to reports of gunfire, East Hartford police discovered Gardner lying in the street with multiple gunshot wounds.
Officers immediately began life-saving measures until medics arrived and transported him to Hartford Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The investigation into the shooting was described as very active from the outset, with police identifying a person of interest.
The case saw a significant development on October 30, 2022, when East Hartford police identified 21-year-old Mekhi Thompson as a person of interest in Gardner's death. Officers attempted to stop Thompson, who was driving a stolen vehicle on Park Avenue, the same street where Gardner was killed. This initiated a high-speed chase that led into Hartford's North End. Thompson eventually abandoned the car and fled on foot but was quickly apprehended by officers from both the East Hartford and Hartford police departments.
Inside the stolen vehicle, authorities discovered a Glock 9mm handgun that had been illegally converted into a fully automatic weapon, complete with a 30-round high-capacity magazine. At the time of this arrest, Thompson was on probation for a 2019 conviction of first-degree assault with a firearm. He faced a slew of new charges, including motor vehicle offenses, second-degree larceny, and multiple firearm-related offenses. His arrest was considered a significant breakthrough in the ongoing investigation into Devonte Gardner's homicide.
