In the midst of his grief, 34-year-old Tavon Cooper, a Black male from Bridgeport, Connecticut, found his life cut short on the night of June 21, 2018. The tragic events unfolded at the P.T. Barnum Housing Complex, a place that would become the final scene of a life marked by recent sorrow. Tavon was in a deeply emotional state, mourning the loss of his 18-year-old nephew, Corbin Cooper, who had died just a week earlier after being ejected from a vehicle during a police chase.
On the night of his own death, Tavon had been at a memorial for his nephew, overcome with an anguish that would spill into a chaotic and fatal encounter.
Around 10:30 p.m., the sound of gunfire echoed through the housing complex. When police arrived, they discovered Tavon unresponsive in the driver's seat of his white Chevrolet Monte Carlo, having sustained a gunshot wound to the head. He was rushed to Bridgeport Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. The initial theory put forth by the Bridgeport Police Chief was a strange and tragic one: it was believed that as Tavon attempted to drive away from assailants who were firing at him, he accidentally shot himself. Police suggested he was holding a loaded gun, and while accelerating or going over a speed bump, the weapon discharged, causing the fatal head wound. Surveillance video and the discovery of at least 10 shots fired at the scene painted a picture of a man under attack in his final moments.
The investigation into the chaotic shooting led to an arrest, but not for murder. Police charged 22-year-old Aushon Carr with crimes related to shooting at Cooper's vehicle, including attempted first-degree assault and illegal discharge of a firearm. According to Carr's statement to investigators, Tavon had been firing a gun into the air and daring someone to shoot back at him. Carr admitted to firing approximately six times at Tavon's car in response. Despite his admission, police sources stated they did not believe Carr fired the shot that killed Cooper. Adding another layer of complexity, some witnesses claimed that a different, unidentified man had shot Cooper before Carr even began firing. While police remained confident that the evidence pointed to an accidental, self-inflicted death, the arrest and conflicting accounts left lingering questions about the violent and tragic end to Tavon Cooper's life.
