Michael Joseph Rosario Sr., a 55-year-old Hispanic father, grandfather and brother, was fatally shot in the hallway of his apartment building at 109 Court St., New Haven, on the afternoon of Thursday, December 19, 2019. Known as a people’s person and a longtime worker at Whalley Pizza, a custodian at Wilbur Cross High School, and the building’s superintendent, Rosario was struck once in the head behind the ear around 4:15 p.m., taken to Yale New Haven Hospital in critical condition and died the next day, December 20, 2019.

Police treated the shooting as an isolated incident arising from a verbal dispute. Investigators quickly developed a tentative suspect after public tips; the next morning Robert Parris Jr., a 53-year-old resident of the same building, turned himself in and confessed, saying he shot Rosario. Parris told detectives he blamed Rosario for job loss and eviction problems and could not take it anymore. Witnesses later said Parris had threatened Rosario before and was seen earlier that day with a handgun, allegedly saying he intended to kill him.

Parris was arrested on December 20, 2019, and charged with murder, carrying a pistol without a permit, and criminal possession of a pistol by a convicted felon. Does anyone who knew Michael or lived at 109 Court St. have information about tensions between the two men or the events that afternoon?