NEW LONDON — A Navy man who police say fired at least five shots from a handgun into the air in downtown New London last year is now charged in connection with a similar shooting incident in Mystic.
Petty Officer Bryce J. Harper, 22, was arrested by Groton Town police on June 2 in connection with reports of shots fired in the area of the Chelsea Groton Bank parking lot at Water and West Main streets in Mystic on May 10. At the time, Harper was already the focus of an investigation into a Nov. 28, 2024, shooting incident in downtown New London.
Police said the spent shell casings left at both scenes helped to bolster the case against Harper. In both cases, Harper is now charged with illegal discharge of a firearm, first-degree reckless endangerment and carrying a pistol without a permit. Harper is assigned to the Virginia-class submarine USS California and remains on active duty, according to a Navy spokesman.
Court records in the New London case reveal details of the monthslong investigation, which started at 1:10 a.m. on Nov. 28, 2024. That morning, New London police fielded several 911 calls and a report from one witness that a man had “pulled a gun out and shot off three or four shots into the air,” at New London’s municipal parking lot, in the heart of the downtown business district.
Police at the scene found five 9 mm shell casings, according to a report from New London Police Detective Marco Zandri, the lead detective in the New London case. Police used surveillance camera footage to find that the shooter was among a group of four people walking on Golden Street that night. When the group entered the parking lot, one of the men fired a handgun into the air, a muzzle flash visible on the camera footage, police said.
New London police identified the shell casing as a 9 mm Luger PMC and entered the information into a national database called the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network. New London police have access to the database from its headquarters thanks to a state- and federally funded mobile NIBIN unit it acquired last year. The database stores digital images of fired cartridge cases and bullets and the unique characteristics can be compared to evidence from other crime scenes.
Police also uncovered more video footage from a Bank Street convenience store that better identified the shooter and the vehicle he was traveling in, police reports show. Police tracked the vehicle with a Louisiana license plate to the Norwich home of Ryan-David Tate, 30, who is serving in the Navy.
New London police contacted the Naval Criminal Investigative Service to request information. The Navy determined Tate had checked onto the Navy base on Nov. 28 at 1:25 a.m., about 15 minutes after the New London shooting was reported. Tate and three others scanned in at the base’s entrance at the same time, including Harper. Harper was the only white male among the group and the only one who fit the description of the shooter, records show.
Police spoke with Tate on Jan. 28 and showed a photo of Harper, asking him if he recognized the man in the photo.
“Tate sat back in his seat and shook his head slowly up and down in an affirmative manner,” police said. “When asked if he recognized the suspect he stated ‘yeah.’ C’mon man, I know who that is. I’m pretty sure you already know who that guy is.
Linking the two shootings
On May 12, New London police received a notification that the fired cartridge casing submitted to the national database was a match to evidence submitted by Groton Town police from the May 10 shooting in Mystic.
New London police spoke with Groton Town Police Sgt. Heather Beauchamp, to compare evidence from the two shootings. In Groton, police had recovered five casings from a 9 mm PMC in a Mystic parking lot. Groton Town Police had linked a vehicle driven by Ryan Hiscox, 22, also a member of the Navy, to the shooting.
Groton Town Police contacted Hiscox, who confirmed he had picked up two Navy shipmates from a parking lot in Mystic, including Harper, according to the arrest warrant affidavit in the case. Hiscox later confirmed he was present when Harper fired shots from the passenger seat of his car. A search of his vehicle turned up another shell casing, police said.
Available police documents reveal no victims associated with the shooting and no motive.
On May 15, police went to the base to meet with Harper, who immediately requested a lawyer. Police said Harper has no criminal history. He did not have a permit for a gun. Harper is free in the New London case on a promise to appear in court. He is free after posting a $25,000 bond in the Groton case.
Harper is due back in New London Superior Court on June 16.
New London Police Chief Brian Wright said the acquisition of the mobile ballistics van last year was a “game changer, in terms of efficiency in analyzing ballistics both for the department and other agencies in the region. Prior to obtaining the mobile unit, Wright said, ballistics evidence was sent for analysis to the state crime lab, which has a backlog of cases. The unit, Wright said, has led to collaborations with other agencies such as the one with Groton Town police.
The state Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection announced in August that it in addition to the mobile NIBIN unit in New London, it had expanded its system of NIBIN kiosks to seven locations that included Bridgeport, Waterbury, Hartford, Meriden, New Haven and Troop E in Montville.
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