On the night of March 30, 2021, a burst of gunfire shattered the late-evening quiet in a Hartford, Connecticut neighborhood. Amauris Flores, a 26-year-old Hispanic male, was fatally shot in an incident that unfolded around 11 p.m. near the 100 block of Westland Street. Hartford police were first alerted to the violence by a ShotSpotter gunfire activation system.
Arriving at the scene, officers discovered evidence of a shooting, but the victim was not present.
While police were securing the crime scene on Westland Street, a local hospital notified them that a man had arrived with multiple gunshot wounds. This individual was soon identified as Amauris Flores. Despite the medical attention he received, Flores succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at the hospital. The Hartford Police Department immediately launched an investigation into the city's latest homicide.
For over a year, the investigation into the death of Amauris Flores continued. Then, in September 2022, a significant breakthrough occurred. The Hartford police announced the arrest of 22-year-old Tylon E. Ceasar in connection with the killing. Ceasar was apprehended at the state Superior Court in Hartford and charged with murder. His bail was set at $1 million. At the time of this charge, Ceasar was already facing separate charges for first-degree assault with a firearm and conspiracy to commit first-degree assault stemming from a different incident. In the days following Flores's death, his family, with the help of the community group Mothers United Against Violence, held a candlelight prayer vigil to honor his memory and call for an end to the violence plaguing the city.
