Hartford Girl's Shooting Death A 'Painful Day For Our City:' Mayor

HARTFORD, CT — Emotions were heavy in Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin's voice Friday morning as he recanted a dark day for the city, a day when a 12-year-old girl is now dead due to gun violence.

Bronin on Friday led a City of Hartford news conference after its seventh homicide of 2023, one in which 12-year-old seventh-grader Secret Pierce of Hartford died Friday morning after being shot in the head during a drive-by shooting Thursday night.

Bronin said she was not the intended target. The three young men who were also wounded in the attack on Huntington Street were. One of the males was seriously hurt.

And, the mayor said, those three males have criminal records, including a history of gun violations.

"This is a painful day in our community," Bronin said. "I don't have the words. I want to say to Secret's mom and loved ones that we are all so deeply sorry, that we are with them today in grief, in prayer and with love."

Speaking on behalf of the city and the Hartford Police Department, Bronin said the investigation was ongoing and many details are not yet known.

Bronin credited the work of St. Francis Hospital staffers in Hartford who frantically spent the night and morning trying to save Secret's life.

He also praised the work of police and emergency responders during the tragedy.

"As you can imagine, this is an ongoing investigation and there's not a lot we can share," Bronin said.

He did say he believed the three young men wounded should cooperate with investigators, especially since what happened resulted in the death of a middle school girl.

"I also call on them to share what they know," Bronin said. "It is unacceptable not to cooperate with investigators.

"We are heartbroken," he said.

Hartford Police Lt. Aaron Boisvert, who heads up the department's major crime unit, said police have surveillance video and images of what they believe is the shooting and of the getaway vehicle.

He said the vehicle behind the shooting had at least two suspects, a driver and at least one passenger.

Boisvert also said the department is confident it will have a better analysis on the make and model of the fleeing vehicle, adding that information will be publicized when ready.

"We are very confident, at some point today, we'll be able to identify the suspects' vehicle," Boisvert said.

Meanwhile, Secret's school — Milner Middle School in Hartford — has a team of crisis counselors to help students and staff cope with this loss, according to Hartford Superintendent of Schools Leslie Torres-Rodriguez.

In addressing the situation Friday, she was emotional.

"Secret was loved by her peers and her educators," said Torres-Rodriguez.

The school chief said Hartford's urban situation can lead to difficult times for schoolchildren and staffers and this situation is being addressed on multiple fronts, including at Milner and other schools attended by Secret.

"Trauma is not foreign to us in Hartford and Hartford Public Schools," Torres-Rodriguez said, adding the loss of a 12-year-old girl in the school system is devastating.

"That is really hard. Really hard," she said.

Bronin said Hartford's 2023 was actually showing less violence and gun violence than recent years, when pandemic and post-pandemic angst helped lead to an influx of urban violence nationally.

"We've had a very tough couple of years, as many cities did," Bronin said.

He also said Secret's death will reverberate in the Hartford community.

Said Bronin, "We're a small city. There will be so many in our community who will feel her loss."

Anyone with information can call the Hartford police tip line at 860-722-TIPS (8477).

(Editor's note: Some early broadcast reports indicated the fatal shooting victim was from West Hartford. The hometown was later confirmed to be Hartford.)