In the early morning hours of July 12, 2014, tragedy struck in Hartford, Connecticut, forever altering the lives of one family. Tyshawn Crawford, a 28-year-old Black / African American man, was in the city's north end, in a neighborhood known as Five Corners. An argument broke out, and what began as a verbal dispute soon escalated into a physical altercation involving several individuals.
The chaos of the fight was pierced by the sound of multiple gunshots.
When the violence subsided, Tyshawn was left with two severe gunshot wounds, one to his neck and another to his upper chest. It was approximately 4:55 a.m. when Hartford police began receiving numerous 911 calls reporting the shooting near 20 Auburn Street. Upon their arrival, they found Tyshawn in grave condition. He was rushed to St. Francis Hospital, where medical personnel fought to save his life, but his injuries were too severe. At 5:50 a.m., just under an hour after the shooting, Tyshawn Crawford was pronounced dead. For the Crawford family, this loss was a devastating echo of a past tragedy; Tyshawn's mother, Shiraleen Crawford, had also been murdered in Hartford seventeen years earlier, in 1997.
The investigation into Tyshawn's death began with a flurry of cooperation from residents in the area. Witnesses reported the preceding argument and fight, but as time went on, that assistance dwindled, making the path to justice more challenging for detectives. Despite the eventual silence from many potential witnesses, the Hartford Police Department's Major Crimes Division persisted in their investigation. They were able to identify a strong person of interest.
Nearly a year after the fatal shooting, on June 24, 2015, there was a significant breakthrough in the case. An extensive investigation led to the arrest of 29-year-old Chiffon Milner in Manchester, Connecticut. Milner was identified as the primary suspect and was charged with murder, criminal use of a firearm, and criminal possession of a firearm. His bond was set at $2 million, marking a pivotal moment in the long road toward answers for Tyshawn's grieving family.
