A man is believed to have fatally shot himself after opening fire in a New Haven residence, killing one woman and critically injuring another during a domestic violence incident early Tuesday, police said.
Chief Karl Jacobson of the New Haven Police Department said the communication center received a 911 call reporting a shooting on Congress Avenue around 1:47 a.m. on Tuesday.
The initial information that police received was that a man in the residence had shot a female victim and then shot himself, Jacobson said during a press conference on Tuesday afternoon.
Officers were immediately dispatched to the scene. After entering the residence, the officers found three gunshot victims, according to Jacobson.
One woman, identified as a 38-year-old, was injured by gunfire and transported to a local hospital where she was listed in critical condition. A second woman, identified as 35-year-old Jennifer Adams, was pronounced dead at the scene, Jacobson said.
Police also located a man, identified as 41-year-old Kerwin Romero, who was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Jacobson.
Jacobson said officers located two children, a 10-year-old and 13-year-old, in the home who were not physically injured and were safe with family members. The two are believed to be the children of the woman in critical condition, according to Jacobson.
Detectives from New Haven Police Department’s Special Victims Unit, Major Crimes Unit and Bureau of Identification responded to the scene to conduct the ongoing investigation.
According to Jacobson, early indicators are that a domestic dispute reportedly occurred within the residence which escalated into gunfire. Police believe Romero opened fire on the two women and then shot himself, Jacobson said.
A weapon was located at the scene, according to Jacobson. It was not registered but it was also not reported stolen at this time.
“It’s that time of the year when families are together, but there’s also a lot of domestic violence at this time of the year,” Jacobson said.
“And it looks like this is a domestic violence tragedy so please if there is anybody showing signs or issues, these things need to be reported so the police can get involved and services get involved before we have a terrible incident like we did last night.”
Jacobson said there are no prior reports of domestic violence between Romero and the surviving woman who is believed to be his girlfriend.
According to Jacobson, Romero does have an active restraining order but it was not for any of the victims in the residence. He reportedly has a prior domestic violence arrest in West Haven in July of 2025. That appears to be with another individual, Jacobson said.
Jacobson also noted that has prior arrests in New Haven in connection with a shooting in 2012 and robbery charges prior to the incident in 2012.
Jacobson said it appears to be an isolated incident and there is no danger to the public.
“First of all my heart goes out to the families involved in this incident,” said New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker.
“We’re hoping that the one victim that is in critical condition at the hospital pulls through. Of course it’s tragic for the individuals that were lost, but also it tragic to think that two children were there witnessing what happened.”
Elicker said he is confident that city officials “will be very engaged with these children to make sure that they and their families have access to the kind of support that I am sure they need at this time.”