Family and friends mourn man gunned down in Hartford; ‘He was one of us’
The mood was somber as family and friends mourned the loss of Jordan Phipps as community organization Mothers United Against Violence held a prayer vigil at the Windsor Memorial Skate Park in honor of his life.
Phipps was shot multiple times outside of a gas station on Wethersfield Avenue just after midnight Aug. 6 and left behind a 1-year-old son, his family said Thursday evening as they stood in the rain outside Superior Court in Hartford.
Chan Williams-Bey was released on more than $800,000 in bonds for pending criminal cases when he allegedly fatally shot 24-year-old Phipps on that early Sunday morning in Hartford, a judge said during a recent court appearance.
Police in Hartford responded just after midnight to a ShotSpotter notification of 12 rounds being fired on Wethersfield Avenue. They found Phipps, of Bloomfield, on the ground next to spent bullet casings with a gunshot wound to the head, according to Williams-Bey’s arrest warrant affidavit.
Phipps was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
Phipps’ family said that they are not ready yet to speak to the news media.
Mothers Against Violence founder the Rev. Henry Brown spoke at the vigil of the escalating violence in Hartford, telling the community to come together and be willing to share what they know if they see any violence.
“It’s been chaotic. It’s been just downright dangerous for all the residents in Hartford,” Brown said. “So we are here today to say that we got to do better with the situation…We have to do better for one another. We have to do better for one another.
“You know, if we know somebody is running around here …(taking) somebody’s life. We need to talk about that. We want to blame the police. But the police, they cannot do all these by themselves,” he said. “They need somebody to help them. Right now, I know if somebody were to step up right now and tell the police what they know — so many murders will be solved in our community. No doubt about it.”
He also encouraged those gathered to do their best to support the Phipps family, especially Jordan’s mother.
“We know the family is hurting. So if anybody has anything that can help your family, then we ask people to help this family,” he said. “When we go to these type of things, we need help from somebody else. It’s not about you doing all this by yourself, mom. It’s about your neighbors supposed to help you out through this time. And I’m not just talking about the neighbors that lived next door to you. I’m talking about the neighbors in this community. Jordan was in our community. He was one of us.”
One of the ways that Brown said that the community can support the Phipps family is to go with them to court, in hopes that Williams-Bey will not be released from jail again.
“Go there in peace, don’t go there with violence, go there in peace. And let the court handle this,” he said. “Everybody goes to court to help put this guy away, so he’ll never get out on the streets again. That’s what I’m pushing for. I’m hoping other people are pushing for the same thing. Because that’s the only way we’re gonna stop this in our community. We got to start being there for one another.”
Mothers United Against Violence leader Deborah Davis also prayed for the family and friends of Phipps.
“God, right now we come praying that you would give this mother some strength. Give her some of that hope and give her some more joy in the name of Jesus. We’re praying for healing,” Davis said.
“We’re praying for the love that she needs to make sure that her heart is full again,” she said. “Let her know that she can live with Jordan in her heart. Let her know that she can live with his spirit surrounded around her Lord, in the name of Jesus.”
“Keep her Father God at night when she’s weeping … because the Lord says that ‘they’re going to be weeping at night. But there’s going to be a day when you’re going to get some joy.’ Your joy will come back but you got to fight for it,” she said.
Davis also prayed for strength for all who have been impacted by gun violence and for them to be compelled to do what they can to stop violence in the city.
Brown also spoke to the young people gathered to encourage them to be positive and ignore those who do not support them staying on the right path.
“You do not have to be out here on these streets living all out of control. And have no respect for your mother, your father, elderly people in the community. It’s a shame how young people act now, cussing out everybody,” he said. “God didn’t put us here to be thugs, gangbangers, and hell raisers. We are supposed to be able to provide for our families.”