On April 10, 2024, 17-year-old Romain Sterling was shot on the 1200 block of Park Avenue in Bridgeport, Connecticut. ShotSpotter detected gunfire at about 6:54 p.m.; dispatchers received calls and officers and medics found Romain with a gunshot wound to the head. He was taken to Bridgeport Hospital in critical condition and died a week later on April 17, 2024.

Romain was a junior at Central High School and played basketball for STORM Academy; his coach remembered him as talented and devoted to his family. Police say two people were briefly detained at the scene on April 10 on unrelated charges while detectives developed leads. Investigators later identified 21-year-old Kiheem Patch Benbow of Ansonia as a suspect.

Benbow was arrested April 24 on a separate warrant and found with a 9mm ghost gun, leading to weapons and protective-order charges. He was subsequently charged with murder, criminal attempt at first-degree assault, and carrying a pistol without a permit. An affidavit says a witness with Romain saw a man in camouflage on a porch fire at them; surveillance allegedly shows the man firing and fleeing. In custody, Benbow reportedly admitted to firing but denied firing the fatal shot; no motive has been reported. Anyone with information about Romain’s shooting is asked to come forward.