Teen girl killed in violent Hartford home invasion recalled as leader, artist, athlete

A 17-year-old girl who was shot to death during a violent home invasion in Hartford this weekend was set to start her senior year of high school next month and become a captain of her volleyball team, her coach said.

Alondra Vega-Martinez, a student at Bulkeley High School, died Tuesday following emergency surgery at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center after being shot in an apartment at 541 Maple Ave. Saturday afternoon, according to the Hartford Police Department.

A 33-year-old Philadelphia man, Carlos Frank-Nieves, was charged with murder on Tuesday while already in custody on charges including home invasion and attempted murder in connection to the shooting, according to police and court officials.

Vega-Martinez was remembered Tuesday as a determined and passionate volleyball player and a leader who encouraged her teammates to show up and put in their best efforts on and off the court, said Adaeze T. Merah, head coach of the Bulkeley High School’s girls volleyball team.

Merah said she remembers the teen’s first days of practice at Bulkeley, where Vega-Martinez transferred for her sophomore year of high school. Even though she was one of the shorter, smaller players, Merah said she asked for an opportunity to play in the front row on the volleyball court, just behind the net. Her coach gave her a shot and not long after slotted Vega-Martinez as a starting varsity player.

“She was a little thing but she played big, she played with a big heart,” Merah said.  “She played with a big heart.”

According to police in an arrest warrant affidavit for Frank-Nieves, Vega-Martinez was inside the apartment on Maple Avenue with at least one adult and a 15-year-old boy when three people knocked on the door and barged in about 3:36 p.m., police said.

Vega-Martinez suffered multiple gunshot wounds after being bound with zip ties during the home invasion and attempted armed robbery, police said in the affidavit.

The entire incident was caught on video from a surveillance camera in the living room of the apartment, according to the affidavit. In the video, police said Vega-Martinez can be heard shouting in Spanish that she had been shot, police said in the affidavit.

Police said that the entire incident occurred inside the apartment as the result of an attempted robbery that appeared to be targeted. An initial investigation found that gunfire was exchanged between the suspects and another person in the apartment, where investigators found to have large quantities of cash, a money-counting machine, and a firearm with an obliterated serial number,” Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin said in a tweet Sunday.

Police: 17-year-old victim in weekend quadruple shooting in Hartford dies

While officers were responding to the call, they came across a motor vehicle crash at the intersection of Maple Avenue and Benton Street with a male driver suffering from a gunshot wound, according to police.

The unidentified male driver was taken to Hartford Hospital where he is listed in critical, but stable condition, police said Tuesday.

A man who was with Frank-Nieves, Joseph Vargas-Mercado, also of Philadelphia, was found shot in connection to the incident and later died at the hospital following the shooting.

In a message from the Hartford Public School District, Vega-Martinez was described as a photographer, artist and athlete. She wore No. 13 on the volleyball court and was one of the team’s star athletes, her coach said.

“She was one of our No. 1 passers, No. 1 servers. She pretty much carried us a lot of the time,” said Merah. “We were really looking forward to her taking it to the next level.”

The coach said that in addition to making Vega-Martinez a team captain this year, her coaches hoped she would play volleyball in college and make next year’s conference team.

“We had plans for her to go to college. She went as far as to join a club team because she really loved the game. That’s what we were really grooming her for,” said Merah. “She was a great player, a good teammate, a good leader, and she would have been a great captain this year.”

Merah said Tuesday that Vega-Martinez was already a leader, even though she did not get the chance to serve as captain. She always came to practice and encouraged her teammates to go to practices, games and other events and to get there on time, said her coach.

“She was definitely one of the leaders who pulled every boy together. She would always step in and make sure everyone was focused and on task,” said Merah. “Her leadership on and off the court was very important, I could always rely on her.”

She served as a Spanish interpreter for players on their team who did not speak English, helping them understand how to make adjustments on the court. She never missed a practice, Merah said, and would walk to and from practices and games if she could not find a ride, her coach said.

If Vega-Martinez was sick and couldn’t play or participate in practice, Merah said, she would still come to sit on the sidelines and cheer on her teammates.

Merah said she expected Vega-Martinez to make the conference team in her senior year after she watched her lead the team in a win against Weaver High School last season.

“She was determined, she surprised us all all the time,” said Merah, who added that Merah was a good student in the classroom.

In a message to the school community on Tuesday, Hartford Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Leslie Torres-Rodriguez said that a celebration of life would be held for Vega-Martinez in the fall when students returned to school.

She said she was sad to lose another member of their student body to gun violence in the city.

“It is with deep regret that I once again share the tragic news that one of our students has died due to gun violence in the community,” said Torres-Rodriguez in a statement.

“I am deeply disturbed and saddened by the violence that impacts many of our students and their families,” the superintendent added. “I understand that yet another act of deadly violence in our community will be difficult for our students, staff and school community, and we are committed to supporting them.”

She encouraged students, families and staff members to lean on one another and seek out counseling services to manage their grief.

Hartford Public Schools listed the following options for support, including that clinical psychologists from Connecticut Children’s Hospital would be available for students, families, and staff by phone to offer emotional health support from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 860-837-9700; Mobile Psychiatric Crisis Services for children are available by dialing 211, then pressing 1 and 1 again for a crisis clinician; The Wheeler Clinic HelpLine staff and volunteers provide telephone support and crisis phone counseling, suicide intervention, and referrals to sources of help, 24/7 at 860-747-3434; and The Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available 24/7 by calling 988.

Staff members can also receive support through Employee Assistance Program by visiting www.AnthemEAP.com and entering the Password: HPS or Hartford Public Schools or by calling 800-865-1044.

Frank-Nieves was released from the hospital on Monday and was in custody facing charges of murder, home invasion, conspiracy to commit home invasion, three counts of unlawful restraint, two counts of risk of injury to a minor, impersonating an officer and criminal possession of a firearm, according to police and court officials.

The Hartford Police Major Crimes and Crime Scene Divisions were still investigating the incident. Anyone with information was asked to contact the Hartford Police Department Tip Line at 860-722-TIPS (8477).