Driver Shoots 12-Year-Old Multiple Times for Throwing a Snowball at Their Car

A Connecticut boy is recovering after being shot multiple times for allegedly throwing snowballs at a car.

On January 22nd, around 7:15 p.m., in Hartford’s Capitol Avenue and Park Terrace area, a 12-year-old boy was shot while with another 11-year-old, who was unharmed, Hartford Police Lieutenant Aaron Boisvert confirmed. The boy, whose name hasn’t been released for privacy and safety reasons, was hit multiple times but is expected to recover. The shooter remains unidentified.

“No arrests have been made as of yet,” Boisvert confirmed on January 24th, calling it a “very active investigation.” Surveillance footage reportedly shows the car circling the block before firing at the children.

“It could have been a lot worse,” Boisvert said, noting the police are unsure how many people were involved.

The incident has left residents shaken. Local restaurant owner Garfield Haylett, nearby at the time of the incident, expressed his dismay.

“We can’t have this happening in our community,” he told NBC Connecticut. “To put bullets in a child, it’s really disturbing.”

The Hartford Police Department continues to investigate, working to identify the car and its occupants with help from video footage. As Boisvert described the scene, “[A] 12-year-old was with another juvenile, throwing snowballs. One of those snowballs hit a car, that car looped the block and chased the kids and fired rounds at the children.”