According to state police, a man from the city who had been shot while riding in a vehicle on Route 15 in Hamden early on New Year’s Day passed away on Thursday. According to an email sent out by the interim superintendent of Bridgeport’s public schools on Friday, Qualon Wilkes, who was 22 years old at the time of his death, had worked as a substitute teacher for the district.  Wilkes is the second person to lose their life as a direct result of the incident, which took place at approximately 2:20 a.m. on January 1 in the southbound lanes of Route 15, close to Exit 60.

According to the police, Adrian Lopez, 23, who was driving the vehicle, was pronounced deceased at the scene of the accident after it occurred.
At Bassick High School, both Wilkes and Lopez were recognized as two of the best basketball players in the school’s history. When asked questions, administrators at the school forwarded them to the office of the superintendent.

Perrin mentioned in an email sent out on Friday that Wilkes had worked for Kelly Educational Staffing as a substitute teacher at the Fairchild Wheeler High School campus of the school system. The interim superintendent stated that she did not have any additional information regarding Wilkes’ employment at the school. Wilkes had been transported to Yale New Haven Hospital along with two other passengers: a 21-year-old man from Bridgeport named Taquan Donald, who suffered injuries that were not considered to be life-threatening, and a 25-year-old man from Bridgeport who stated that he had not sustained any injuries.

On Thursday, state police reported that Wilkes had passed away at the hospital, and they informed his family of his passing. According to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for the state, as of Friday morning, no conclusions have been drawn regarding the circumstances surrounding his passing or the cause of his death. “The investigation has been taken over by the Central District Major Crime Squad (CDMC), and the New Haven State’s Attorney has been informed of this incident, according to a statement released by state police on January 1st. It would appear that this is an isolated incidence, and there is no ongoing danger to the general population.”

Please contact CDMC Troop I at 203-393-4243 if you have any information on this occurrence or if you have a vehicle that was traveling through the area at the time of the incident and it was equipped with a dashboard camera. Every call will be handled in strict confidence.