John Randall Patrick Jr., a 22-year-old Black man, was fatally shot on June 30, 2021, in a second-floor bedroom of an apartment on Howard Avenue in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Police responded to a report of a person shot just before 5 p.m. and found Patrick unresponsive; paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene. Authorities initially described the shooting as a targeted, isolated incident and said the victim knew the shooter.

Investigators quickly identified a person of interest. By July 9, 2021, 21-year-old Giovanni Ramos had surrendered to police and was charged with multiple offenses stemming from the shooting. The arrest warrant stated that Patrick and Ramos were best friends and had been handling a handgun, allegedly unaware it was loaded, when the weapon discharged and fatally wounded Patrick. Friends remembered Patrick as a young man raised in a local church and a former member of the children’s choir.

If anyone knew John, his circle, or the apartment on Howard Avenue, please share information that could help clarify what happened.