Police arrest man wanted in connection to shooting on University of Saint Joseph campus, crash in West Hartford Friday
Police arrested a man on attempted murder and assault charges in connection to a Friday shooting and crash in West Hartford, after a search for him led across state lines into Massachusetts, police said.
Darnell Barnes, 22, was arrested on a warrant Sunday night and charged in connection with a shooting and related car crash at the University of Saint Joseph Friday morning, police said.
Barnes turned himself in to the Farmington Police Department after 10 p.m. Sunday and was transferred to the West Hartford Police Department, West Hartford Lt. Thomas Lazure said at a press briefing Monday. Barnes surrendered himself to police with an attorney present and invoked his 5th Amendment rights, so he was not questioned by police.
Police responded to a parking lot on the west side of the campus and a nearby rollover crash on Albany Avenue before 2:30 a.m. Friday. Officers determined the two incidents were related and the driver of the vehicle involved in the crash was suffering from gunshot wounds, West Hartford Sgt. Amanda Martin said at a press briefing Friday.
The victim, a man in his 20s, was taken to an area hospital with serious injuries and was in stable condition as of Friday. His injuries were not considered to be life-threatening, Lazure said.
“By the grace of God, nobody died,” Lazure said. “There were there rounds being fired and it’s on a college campus, it’s a senseless act of violence that occurred here in town. We know it. We felt it. This town is not used to this type of stuff.”
The incidents resulted from an alleged relationship-related altercation between two men, the victim and suspect, and a woman, Lazure said. The woman involved is a student at Saint Joseph, but the two men were not, he said.
There was allegedly an altercation between the three, which led to shots being fired on the campus. Then the victim and suspect got into separate vehicles and continued the incident onto Albany Avenue, where the suspect drove into the victim’s vehicle, Lazure said. The victim’s vehicle then rolled over and several more shots were fired on Albany Avenue near Calvary Church. It appears the vehicles were involved in a chase, he said.
Lazure said the department is confident this incident was isolated between the involved parties.
Police determined Barnes was a suspect and recovered his unoccupied vehicle on the Massachusetts Turnpike, according to the Massachusetts State Police Friday. Troopers were searching for Barnes in the area and put out messages to residents to look out for him since he was considered armed and dangerous.
Barnes had a valid pistol permit, but it has since been revoked, Lazure said. Barnes does not have a criminal history, he said.
No firearms have been recovered in this case, he said.
Barnes is charged by warrant with first-degree assault, first-degree reckless endangerment, second-degree assault with a motor vehicle, first-degree criminal mischief and evading responsibility. Police later added two charges, criminal attempt murder and unlawful discharge of a firearm, after further evidence was found, Lazure said.
He is being held in lieu of $1 million bail and appeared in Hartford Superior Court Monday.
The investigation into the case is ongoing, police said. Anyone with further information is asked to contact the police at 860-523-5203.
