April 21 (UPI) — Connecticut police have identified the 12-year-old girl who was killed during a drive-by shooting in Hartford.
Secret Pierce was shot in the head Thursday night while she was sitting in a parked vehicle, the Hartford Police Department said. Pierce, who was a seventh-grade student at Milner Middle School, was pronounced dead Friday morning.
The Hartford Courant reported Mayor Luke Bronin said the three men who were shot were two adults and one was a juvenile. He said all three have a history of firearm-related offenses and he asked them to share what they know about Pierce’s assailant.
“While I am sorry for the wounds that they experienced last night and hope that they recover quickly and heal in all ways — physical, mental and in heart — I also call on them to share whatever they know because I believe they know who fired the bullets that killed a 12-year-old girl,” Bronin said, according to the Courant.
Surveillance video in the area captured footage of a vehicle driving by and someone shooting at the three men, according to NBC Connecticut.
Leslie Torres-Rodriguez, superintendent of Hartford Public Schools, said school officials will be available to talk with students about the shooting.
“That is really hard,” Torres-Rodriguez said, adding that the school system has “activated all of our crisis support teams.”
“To us, Secret was one of our beautiful, very capable students,” Torres-Rodriguez added.