Who were Chase Garrett and Christina Dang? Parents of 4-month-old baby shot dead after argument over dog
HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT: Chase Garrett, 39, and Christina Dang, 27, both residents of Hartford, Connecticut, were killed in a driveway on Father's Day shortly after 9 pm in what the mayor called a "minor personal dispute." The parents of a four-month-old baby were shot and killed following a disagreement with a neighbor over a dog.
A third victim, a woman who resided at the same location, was brought to the hospital in a severe condition while the parents were pronounced dead at the site. "This is a tragic series of events, and it is heartbreaking to think that two people have lost their lives, and a third person remains in critical condition, because of a minor personal dispute that escalated into violence," said Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin on Monday, June 20. The presence of the baby, "who we now believe is an orphan," he continued, is a "very painful and especially tragic element."
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Dang gave birth in February, and her older sister Julie described her as "a beautiful soul full of life." "She was a mother to a 4-month-old, Chosen, and she lost her life over a senseless argument," she claimed. "It's hard for a child to lose two parents on the same night and on Father's Day, a day that should be loved."
The baby has been placed in the Department of Children and Families' custody as a result of the shooting, according to the police. Police have reported that a car they believe was used as a getaway vehicle has been confiscated as of Tuesday morning. Despite the fact that a person of interest has been found, no suspects have been said to be in police custody.
"This is the continuation of a very, very distressing trend that we are seeing not just in Hartford, but around the state and around the country… which is minor personal disputes escalating with incredible speed into violence. And the presence of guns then turns those disputes fatal," according to Bronin, who said that the child's "life changed forever because a minor dispute about a dog turned into a tragic shooting."
The couple moved to Hartford to raise their child and be closer to Garrett's family, according to the couple's relatives. "She was trying to do better for herself and for her family," according to Dang's cousin Olivia Anderson, who spoke to NBC.