On the evening of August 1, 2017, Gabriel Pereira, a 32-year-old Hispanic man, was attending a family birthday party on Park Street in New Britain, Connecticut. Pereira briefly stepped outside the residence and was shot in the head near the front porch. Family members found him on the ground and he was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Investigators later reported the shooting may have followed an earlier dispute that evening between two men on foot and occupants of a car; Pereira was not involved in that altercation. The New Britain Police Department and the state Cold Case Unit reviewed surveillance video, cell phone records and witness interviews, and a reward was offered for information leading to a conviction.

In September 2023 authorities arrested Michael B. Coleman and Jamell W. Evans in connection with the killing; Coleman was charged with murder and Evans was charged as an accessory to murder. Coleman was later found not guilty at trial, while Evans pleaded guilty to first-degree assault.