On a summer afternoon in Hartford, Connecticut, 41-year-old James Headen, a Black male, was an innocent bystander at a youth basketball tournament near the Sarah Rawson School on Holcomb Street on June 27, 2015. What began as a community event took a tragic turn when gunfire erupted, and Headen was fatally shot in the head. He was rushed to St. Francis Hospital where he ultimately succumbed to his injuries.
The incident, which occurred around 4:30 p.m., left two other individuals with
non-life-threatening gunshot wounds. Justin Jones, 23, was shot in the hip, and Shawn Patterson, 24, was hit in the hand. The chaos of the event was captured in multiple 911 calls, with witnesses reporting hearing approximately four shots fired.
Shortly after the shooting, police arrested 23-year-old Roosevelt Holmes of Windsor in connection with the violence. Holmes himself sustained a gunshot wound to his foot during the incident. Investigators determined that the shooting stemmed from a dispute over a pair of stolen sunglasses. Holmes was not a participant in the basketball tournament but became involved in an altercation that escalated to gunfire.
Initially, Holmes faced charges including first-degree assault, reckless endangerment, and criminal possession of a firearm. Following Headen's death, the charges against Holmes were upgraded to murder. His bond was subsequently increased to $2.5 million.
