Five students arrested in West Hartford shooting

West Hartford, Conn. (WTNH) - Five Conard High School students were arrested in connection with a shooting on Abbotsford Avenue in West Hartford Tuesday afternoon that police say started with some kind of bullying incident.

The victim was in critical condition at Hartford Hospital.

Police arrested Justin Reyes, 18, of Hartford; Andre Cooke, 18, of West Hartford; and Marcus Stevens, 18, also of West Hartford, along with two others under the age of 18.

Police say the group went to the home to bully a teenage girl who lived there. The female and a man relative came out to confront the group. The man was eventually surrounded by the five suspects.

A 17-year-old, while eating a piece of pound cake, pulled out a gun and shot the man in the neck.

Witnesses told News 8 there was a loud argument before shots rang out. "He was yelling and screaming bad words. Now these guys came back, and they pull out a gun and start shooting," Marta Cotto from West Hartford said.

The man gunned down on the street was taken by a friend to the hospital. Police were right around the corner on a distracted driving detail, and were on the scene quickly to surround the scene.

"It was chaotic," said Captain Joseph Lasata from the West Hartford Police Department. "We got some people and witnesses who told us who may and may not have been involved. We were able to locate three of them in the vicinity right away."

Police called in the SWAT team, and they surrounded a house where a fourth suspect, the shooter, was thought to be hiding out. He was captured about an hour later. The fifth suspect was arrested when he arrived home Wednesday evening.

The gun was found two streets away.

The arrests were a relief to the people on Abbotsford Avenue. They say nothing like this happens on their road.

"This street is a quiet street. It's no Hartford," Cotto said. "This is West Hartford, and I am surprised. This is the first time this happened."

The shooting victim has not been identified.