Thomas Breen photo
Police Chief Karl Jacobson on Monday: "This is a tragedy. This is a terrible incident."
(Updated) A 54-year-old New Havener named Sheila Harris died on Wednesday from injuries she sustained during a domestic-violence-fueled double shooting on Shelton Avenue that had already claimed the life of her alleged abuser.
On Wednesday at 10:17 p.m., New Haven Police Department spokesperson Capt. Rose Dell sent out an email press release announcing Harris’ death.
“The New Haven Police Department is currently conducting a thorough investigation following a tragic shooting incident that occurred on Shelton Avenue on August 19,” Dell wrote. “We are deeply saddened to announce that the victim, identified as Sheila Harris, has tragically passed away from her injuries. Our heartfelt condolences go out to her family and friends during this difficult time.”
Harris is the second person to die from this incident. Christopher Garvin, her long-time partner whom police believe shot and fatally injured Harris in an act of domestic violence, died that same night after he was apparently shot and killed by a relative of Harris’s. Garvin and Harris lived in the same Shelton Avenue apartment, and had two children together. Police believe Garvin attacked Harris, and then Harris’ relative shot and killed Garvin.
“Detectives from the Special Victims Unit and the Bureau of Identification are diligently working to gather evidence, interview witnesses, and piece together the events leading up to this tragic incident,” Dell wrote.
See more below for more details on this fatal incident and for previous version of this article.
Domestic Violence Preceded Shelton Homicide
Two guns and a history of domestic violence left a Shelton Avenue family mired in tragedy this weekend, as a 54-year-old man allegedly shot and critically injured his long-time partner — and then was shot and killed himself by a family member of the female victim.
Police Chief Karl Jacobson provided more details on that early Sunday morning homicide on Monday afternoon after an unrelated police recruit swearing-in ceremony on the second floor of City Hall.
Here’s what happened, according to Jacobson:
On Saturday, Christopher Garvin, a 54-year-old resident of Shelton Avenue, came to the police department headquarters at 1 Union Ave. and, from the building’s lobby, called the police to try to preempt and “discredit” a complaint he expected his partner — with whom he has two children and with whom he lived on Shelton — would be making with the police.
Jacobson said Garvin told police that his partner would likely claim that he had stolen something from her, and that he “didn’t do it.”
At around 11:21 p.m. on Saturday, a 54-year-old woman who lives in that same apartment on the 200 block of Shelton Avenue came to police headquarters to file a domestic violence threatening complaint against her partner, Garvin. As part of that complaint she indicated that Garvin had access to a gun. (Police have declined to identify the woman who made that complaint, as she is believed to be a domestic violence victim.)
After she filed her complaint against Garvin with the police, Jacobson said, police realized that they needed to talk to Garvin. The officers “did have communication with Mr. Garvin” but Garvin “declined” to come back to police headquarters. “The officers made attempts to locate him,” but were unsuccessful.
Multiple officers then took the female domestic violence victim back to her home on the 200 block of Shelton, where they stayed with her for roughly three hours and made a “safety plan” with her. Jacobson declined to go into detail on what that safety plan entailed. “It’s what we do for every domestic violence situation, so that the victim is safe.”
Soon after 2 a.m., Jacobson said, officers were dispatched to another address on the 400 block of Shelton Avenue “for what came in as a home invasion” call. The officer or officers who were with the female domestic violence victim at that time therefore left the area to respond to the separate call.
“Then, they were called back” to the female domestic violence victim’s home on the 200 block of Shelton for multiple reports of a shooting. “When they arrived, they discovered two bodies”: Garvin and the female domestic violence victim. Police “attempted to resuscitate both victims.”
Garvin wound up dying from his gunshot wounds. The female domestic violence victim remains at the hospital in critical condition.
“We believe that Mr. Garvin attempted to harm the female victim,” Jacobson said, “and then a female victim’s family member defended her family member and shot Mr. Garvin.” Police recovered two guns at the scene of the shooting.
Jacobson said that the female victim’s family member who they believe shot Garvin has been questioned by police, but has not been arrested. He also said that, at this time, police do not believe that the 911 call about the home invasion that took police away from the victim’s home and to the 400 block of Shelton was made by Garvin or anyone involved in the subsequent fatal shooting.
Jacobson said that the female victim did not have a protective order against Garvin, but the couple “did have a history of domestic violence” with “some prior arrests” of both partners. State court records show that Garvin was arrested on July 25 on two misdemeanor charges — second-degree breach of peace and third-degree assault — stemming from a May 27 incident. Jacobson said on Monday that he believes that incident involved the same woman whom Garvin allegedly shot and critically injured on Sunday.
“This is a tragedy,” Jacobson said. “This is a terrible incident. She came to us. We did everything possible to help her.” He said the department is reviewing the involved officers’ conduct to see if they followed protocol. At this time, he said, no officers are suspected of misconduct.
“If there’s a handgun involved,” Jacobson pleaded with the public, “call, come to the police department, and do what the police ask you” to do.
See below for an earlier version of this story.
1 Killed, 1 Injured In Shelton Avenue Shooting
A 54-year-old man named Christopher Garvin died and a 54-year-old woman remains in critical condition after an early-morning shooting on Shelton Avenue that followed a domestic dispute the night before.
Police spokesperson Capt. Rose Dell wrote in a Sunday afternoon email press release that, on Saturday at around 11:25 p.m., officers investigated a “late report of a domestic dispute that occurred at a residence in the 200 block of Shelton Avenue. Officers spoke with the female victim, who recounted a physical altercation with her children’s father earlier in the evening.”
Officers tried but couldn’t find the male suspect. “To ensure the safety of the female victim, a safety plan was developed.”
Then, at around 2:30 a.m. Sunday, “officers were dispatched to the area outside of the residence where the domestic had occurred, in response to reports of gunfire on Shelton Avenue. Upon arrival, they discovered the fifty-four-year-old female victim, who had previously reported the domestic incident, and a fifty-four-year-old male, identified as her child’s father, both suffering from gunshot wounds.”
The male victim, later identified as Christopher Garvin, died from his gunshot injuries. “The female victim remains in critical condition. The investigation into this incident is still ongoing, with detectives actively working to gather evidence and determine the circumstances surrounding the shooting.”
Police are asking anyone who may have witnessed this incident or who may have information valuable to investigators to call detectives at 203 – 946-6304 or through the department’s anonymous tip-line at 866 – 888-TIPS (8477).