The Elm City saw its second homicide in less than 24 hours when a woman was shot dead in Newhallville early Wednesday morning.
New Haven Police Department officers responded to a ShotSpotter report of gunfire at 94 Shelton Ave. at 12:17 a.m. Wednesday, and found Ashley Armstrong, 20, seated in the driver’s seat of a Volkswagen with gunshot wounds to her head and neck, according to department spokesman David Hartman. Armstrong was taken to St. Raphael’s Hospital and pronounced dead at 12:37 a.m.
Detectives from the NHPD’s Major Crimes Unit have launched an investigation and recovered evidence from a crime scene at 84 Shelton Ave. Hartman said no suspects have yet been identified.
Armstrong’s murder followed the shooting death of 20-year-old Tyrell Trimble shortly before 1 p.m. Tuesday. A masked gunman shot Trimble at Elm and Kensington Streets, near the Stop & Shop frequented by Yalies, before fleeing in a Chevrolet van.
“We just lost another child of this city today to another gunshot wound,” NHPD Chief Dean Esserman told the New Haven Register on Tuesday. “It’s the same supermarket that I shop at and I’m not scared.”
A witness said that a Chevrolet van with Pennsylvania plates fled the scene south on Orchard Street. Police later found the vehicle at Vine Street and Sylvan Avenue. Because of the proximity of the vehicle to Strong Elementary School, officials placed the school on lockdown for more than an hour.
The two murders bring New Haven’s homicide count for 2012 up to five.