He Just Fell

Helen Ubinas has returned to the Hartford Courant after a fellowship. This is her first column back (thanks, Vanessa): He just fell. And at first, the people standing around the little boy didn't think the unrelenting popping noises had anything to do with him collapsing onto the pavement like a rag doll.

Firecrackers, they figured; they were at the annual West Indian Parade, after all.

But then they saw blood gushing from 7-year-old Tyrek Marquez's head, and a woman who had been standing nearby said everyone suddenly started screaming and running, crashing into one another as they desperately sought cover from gunfire that never seemed to stop. After the initial spray of shots, she said, it was as if anyone with a gun started using it, including a man she saw firing from behind his back as he ran away.