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1 killed, 3 injured in shooting in Hartford apartment

One person was killed and three others were critically injured in a shooting in Hartford Saturday afternoon.

A 17-year-old was among those injured, police said.

Authorities said the incident happened inside an apartment on Maple Avenue and that it wasn’t a random act. The incident stemmed from an attempted robbery and gunfire was exchanged between suspects and someone in the apartment, police said.

Officials believe the apartment was being targeted as police later found "large quantities of cash, a money-counting machine, and a firearm with an obliterated serial number," Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin said on Twitter.

Two people appeared to have traveled from Philadelphia for the robbery, Bronin said.

Police say they've made an arrest in the case and identified the person as Carlos Frank-Nieves, 33, of Philadelphia. He faces various charges.

Authorities identified the person who was fatally shot as Joseph Vargas-Mercado, 25, of Philadelphia.

Officers responded shortly after 3:30 p.m. Saturday to Maple Avenue after getting a call that a person had been shot. While they were on their way to the scene, they spotted a vehicle that had crashed at the intersection of Maple Avenue and Benton Street. A passenger had several gunshot wounds and was transferred to a local hospital.

Meanwhile, officers had received a report of two people with gunshot wounds being dropped off along Wethersfield Avenue. Officers located the two individuals — one of whom was Vargas-Mercado
— and they were also sent to a local hospital, where Vargas-Mercado later died.

Police say all of the incidents were connected to the shooting.

The three people who survived were listed in critical condition as of Saturday, police said.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

Connecticut Public’s journalism is made possible, in part by funding from Jeffrey Hoffman and Robert Jaeger.