Just after midnight on January 16, 2018, Jawaun Green, a 21-year-old Black male from Bridgeport, Connecticut, made a quick stop at The Snack Shop on Newfield Avenue to buy a cigar. This seemingly ordinary act would tragically be his last. As he stepped out of the store, the cold night air was shattered by the sound of gunfire. Green, struck in the chest, stumbled back into the shop, mortally wounded.
He had celebrated his 21st birthday only two days prior.
A clerk inside the store heard the shots and saw Green re-enter, collapsing from his injuries. While 911 was called, Green’s brother arrived at the scene before emergency medical services and rushed him to Bridgeport Hospital in a private vehicle. Despite the swift transport, the gunshot wound to his chest proved fatal, and he was pronounced dead at the hospital. His death marked the first homicide in the city of Bridgeport for the year 2018.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, Bridgeport police secured the area around The Snack Shop, which became the focal point of the investigation. Law enforcement officials did not immediately release a motive for the shooting, and no suspects were publicly identified. The neighborhood where the shooting occurred had experienced other fatal shootings in the preceding year, raising concerns about violence in the area.
Days after Green’s death, the investigation expanded to include a raid on The Snack Shop itself, where police alleged illegal activities were taking place. However, this action did not lead to any publicly announced breakthroughs in identifying the individual or individuals responsible for Jawaun Green's death. The case remains a painful and unresolved chapter for his family and the community, a sudden and violent end to a young life, with justice yet to be served as no arrests have been made and no suspects have been named.
