HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — A 12-year-old bystander was killed, and three other people were wounded in a drive-by shooting Thursday night in Hartford, authorities said.

Hartford police said the shooter or shooters in a passing vehicle appeared to have been targeting three males standing on a sidewalk around 8:40 p.m. on Huntington Street in the Asylum Hill neighborhood. The three on the sidewalk were also struck by gunfire, police said.

Police said 12-year-old Se’Cret Pierce of Hartford was shot in the head as she sat in a parked car. She was unresponsive on scene and taken to St. Francis Hospital, where police said she was pronounced dead at 7 a.m. Friday.

“She had nothing to do with it,” police Lt. Aaron Boisvert said. “Very tragic. Very unfortunate. Sickening.”

Police said the 18-year-old suffered life-threatening injuries, and the two others, ages 16 and 23, were treated for gunshot wounds that police said were not life-threatening.

At a news briefing Friday morning, Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin said the three each have an extensive criminal history, “including, I believe, multiple firearm arrests and multiple arrests for the use of a firearm.”

“I believe they know who fired the bullets that killed the 12-year-old girl,” Bronin said. “I believe one of the bullets intended for them killed the 12-year-old girl.”

The mayor called on them to share what they know as police search for the shooter or shooters.

“It is not acceptable not to cooperate with investigators, and it is not acceptable not to share the information you know about who took the life of a 12-year-old girl,” he said. “That’s not fair to her family, that’s not fair to her loved ones, that’s not fair to her memory, that’s not fair to our community.”

Hartford police said the shooting was captured on surveillance video, but the footage was grainy and police were trying to identify the suspected vehicle, Boisvert said. Authorities believe there were two people in the car.

Anyone with information on the city’s seventh homicide of the year is urged to call the Hartford police tip line at (860) 722-TIPS (8477).

Remembering Se’Cret Pierce

The 12-year-old was a student at Milner Middle School in Hartford.

“When a tragedy happens such as this one, it does have wide ripples,” she said. “And to us, Se’Cret was one of our beautiful and very capable students. And we have activated all of our crisis support teams.”

Torres-Rodriguez added that counselors and social workers are available for any student who may need or want help or assistance.  

The video below is from News 8 at 11 p.m. on April 20, 2023.