Ryan Dowling, 27, was fatally shot in the early morning hours of Friday, August 20, 2021, in the parking lot of the Malibu Sports Bar and Lounge on Silver Lane in East Hartford, Connecticut. Police were called about 12:30 a.m.; first responders found Dowling unconscious with an apparent gunshot wound, and CPR was performed before he was taken to a nearby hospital where he died. An autopsy determined the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the neck.

Witnesses told investigators they saw two Black males in their 20s flee the scene in a dark-colored sedan. Both were reported wearing all black clothing; one was described as tall and muscular, the other shorter with short dreadlocks. The East Hartford Police Department and the Connecticut State’s Attorney’s Office opened a homicide investigation, and no arrests had been announced in the immediate aftermath.

If anyone saw the shooting, the vehicle described, or persons matching these descriptions on Silver Lane that night, please come forward with what was observed.