NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — A man was killed and a woman was critically injured in a shooting in New Haven over the weekend, according to police. New Haven police chief Karl Jacobson said the two people had a history of domestic violence.

On Saturday night before 11:30 pm, police said a woman filed a domestic violence complaint against the father of her two adult children, 54-year-old Christopher Garvin. She told the police he had a gun. 

Police ended up talking to Garvin over the phone and then developed a safety plan for the woman. Jacobson said multiple officers stayed with the woman at her home on Shelton Avenue. 

At some point, police were called to another incident down the street but were called back to the home around 2:20 a.m.

Officers discovered both Garvin and the woman had been shot. Two guns were found on the scene, police said. 

“This is a terrible incident. She came to us, we did everything possible to help her,” Jacobson said. “We believe that Mr. Garvin attempted to harm the female victim and a female victim’s family member defended her family member and shot Mr. Garvin.” 

The medical examiner determined Garvin died from a gunshot wound to the head and ruled his death a homicide. Jacobson said the family member who allegedly shot him was questioned but is currently not in police custody. 

Police would not release details on the safety plan officers created but Meghan Scanlon, the CEO of the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence described the standard safety plan police departments all over the state follow. 

“In most instances, they will on-site perform a lethality assessment which we call LAP, it’s for high-risk individuals,” she said. “I don’t know if that was done in this case or not, it sounds like if this case would have been eligible for something like that in which case then they would in the immediate of that incident work with that individual to try to establish some sort of safety protocols whether it be going and staying with somebody or a loved one, making that they have basic needs that they may need in order to stay safe.”

Jacobson was asked if the officers followed all the right steps. 

“Looking at it first and everything we know right now, there wasn’t any officer misconduct,” he responded. “They spent over three and a half, four hours with her. But of course, we look at everything.” 

According to court records, Garvin had been facing charges of breach of peace and assault stemming from an incident last May. Police confirmed the charges were related to the same woman in this case.