Michael Gaines, a 58-year-old Black man and a well-known community member in Bridgeport, Connecticut, was fatally shot on the evening of April 12, 2023. Officers found him unresponsive just before 9 p.m. at the corner of East Main and Arctic streets in front of Shorty’s Deli; he had a gunshot wound to the head and was pronounced dead at a hospital. Police described the killing as targeted and isolated, saying Gaines was the intended victim.

Security footage reportedly shows a single suspect walking up to Gaines while he was seated and shooting him once in the head without apparent provocation. Investigators recovered a shell casing at the scene that was later matched to a casing found in a safe belonging to 23-year-old Nelson Perez. Perez was arrested on June 1, 2023, and charged with murder, criminal possession of a firearm, and illegal discharge of a firearm; his bond was set at $2 million. He told investigators he had been at the scene but claimed not to have heard anything. No motive has been released.

If anyone knew Michael Gaines or saw activity near East Main and Arctic on April 12, 2023, please come forward with information.