City | 1:23 am | October 24, 2011 | By James Lu

New Haven teen dies in shooting

A 13-year-old boy died Sunday evening after he was found shot in the head less than a mile from the Yale Bowl.

New Haven Police Department officers found Marquell Banks, 13, shot in the head in a house at the corner of Porter St. and Parmelee Ave., after they responded to a report of a shooting there around 7:30 p.m. Banks was taken to Yale-New Haven Hospital but died shortly thereafter.

Banks’ mother arrived at the scene around 9:20 p.m. and asked officer whether the victim was her son, according to the New Haven Independent. When police confirmed that it was, she broke into tears.

The tragic circumstances of Banks’ death were compounded by the fact his mother had seen him alive just “a couple of hours” earlier, according to the Independent.

It was not immediately clear if the death was self-inflicted or a homicide, NHPD spokesman David Hartman told the Independent, adding the police have begun an investigation. Two other people were home at the time of Banks’ death. Police officers said they are being considered witnesses, not suspects.

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