A 13-year-old boy has been arrested in connection to the shooting of a 16-year-old boy near Whalley Avenue in February — as revealed at a Wednesday press conference about several recent violent crimes involving young New Haveners. Among the children affected in those various incidents, the you ngest victim was a seven-year-old boy, who suffered from two broken femurs and head injuries after a hit-and-run in Beaver Hills last October. Those updates were presented during a press conference in New Haven police headquarters at 1 Union Ave. on Wednesday. According to Acting Police Chief David Zannelli, the city has seen five nonfatal shootings and zero homicides in 2026 so far. Police have already made arrests for four of those five shootings. Mayor Justin Elicker acknowledged a rise in the number of shootings in 2026 compared to the first few months of 2025. Excluding 2025, however, gun violence in the city sits at the lowest point of the decade. While praising the department’s “remarkable” solve rate, Elicker stressed the urgency of addressing the recent rise in juvenile crime. “Put the guns down,” the mayor said on Wednesday. The city has always seen minors involved with crimes, but the victims and perpetrators were “not quite as young in the past.” Zannelli agreed, saying the department will consider adding school resource officers (SROs) to the city’s middle schools, in addition to running programs for vulnerable young people. “It’s great to make an arrest, but it’s even better to prevent the incident in the first place,” said Zannelli. During Wednesday’s press conference, New Haven Police Capt. Brendan Borer presented updates on four shootings that took place this year. One involved a 16-year-old who was shot in the leg on Feb. 12. Police located him in the bathroom of a store on Whalley Avenue, said Borer. On March 10, police executed a search warrant of a nearby house and found multiple high-capacity magazines and a gun without a serial number. According to Borer, police arrested a 13-year-old for weapons-related offenses stemming from the search. Police confirmed that one of the firearms found in the house was used in the shooting. Police spokesperson Officer Christian Bruckhart told the Independent that a warrant has been submitted for the 13-year-old’s arrest for the shooting. The investigation is still ongoing, though the child is currently in police custody. Another case discussed on Wednesday involved two 20-year-old men who were shot in the area of Mill and Chapel streets in Fair Haven on Feb. 15. Neither suffered from life-threatening injuries, according to Borer. Borer said the police department submitted a warrant for the arrest of a 16-year-old for the shooting; he has not yet been taken into custody. In yet another juvenile case, a 17-year-old was arrested for allegedly shooting a 22-year-old around El Coqui Restaurant on Grand Avenue in Fair Haven. The 17-year-old was also shot during that incident. He was arrested on March 5 for assault in the first degree, carrying a pistol without a permit, possession of a high-capacity magazine, reckless endangerment in the first degree, and unlawful discharge of a firearm. In the one non-shooting case, Capt. Nicholas Marcucio announced that a 28-year-old New Havener was arrested in connection with a hit-and-run on Oct. 15. According to Marcucio, a family of four was struck by a Honda Accord while crossing the intersection of Ella T. Grasso Boulevard and Goffe Terrace at around 12:24 a.m. The crash broke both of the seven-year-old’s femurs and inflicted head injuries. His younger sibling was ejected from a stroller and escaped with minor injuries. The mother was also injured. Marcucio said the driver fled the scene. With help from the U.S. Marshals Service, he was located in Louisiana and is currently being extradited to New Haven. His bond sits at $250,000. He is being charged with a litany of crimes, including assault in the first degree, assault in the third degree, reckless endangerment in the first degree, risk of injury to a minor, evading responsibility, and several motor vehicle violations. Avi Meer, who lives in Beaver Hills and is an active member of the neighborhood’s Chabad Lubavitch Hasidic Jewish community, said his cousin’s family were the ones injured during the October hit and run. While physically on the mend, they’re all still recovering from emotional and psychological injuries, said Meer. “They’re in need of healing in other ways, that are in addition to just the physical injuries,” he said. The post Arrests Highlight Crimes By, Against City Youth appeared first on New Haven Independent. ...read more read less