Case Profiles #79
Amos “A.J.” Brown
On August 13th, 2010, 18-year-old Amos Brown Jr., nicknamed “A.J.,” was shot while driving down Lexington Avenue in Norwalk, Connecticut. He was ambushed in broad daylight. Initially thought to be a random act of violence, A.J.’s family told police that A.J. was targeted and his murder was anything but random. A witness had seen A.J. driving a black Honda and said that he was being followed down Lexington Avenue. The shooting began at 1:50 p.m. when the other car, gold in color and containing the driver and two passengers, passed A.J. and someone inside started shooting. The car in front of A.J.’s, a gray Volvo with Vermont plates and four men inside, stopped in front of the Faith Lighthouse Church at 50 Lexington Ave., about 100 feet up the street from where the shooting started. A.J. stopped here as well as the gold car with the shooter. The witness saw a tall, skinny Black man wearing a long, red T-shirt and shorts get out of the gold car and start shooting both A.J. and the gray Volvo.
Inside the gray Volvo was A.J.’s cousin, and someone from inside the gray Volvo began returning fire and shooting back at the shooter and the gold car. A.J.’s cousin had been called by A.J. for help after A.J. realized he was being followed. After being shot, A.J. lost control of the vehicle and the car started rolling back down the slight hill to a bodega and then crashed into the side of the building. Another witness said that while holding his gun to one leg, the man in the red T-shirt started walking down a nearby driveway but came back around the side of the building after removing his red shirt. He was last seen walking south on Lexington Avenue in a white T-shirt. The Volvo was found nearby with three bullet holes. A.J. Brown initially survived the gunshot he sustained to the back of his head, but was put on life support that was removed two days later. A.J.’s mom stated, “I'm an angry mother right now, and I have nothing to say. We want anyone who knows anything about his murder to come forward. I want to get past this. If anyone knows anything, please contact the police.” Several days after A.J.’s murder, police issued a BOLO on a stolen 2010 silver, four-door Chevy Malibu with New Hampshire license plates that was removed from the Enterprise Rent-a-Car on Main Avenue in Norwalk. The driver is armed and dangerous and believed to be a suspect in Brown's death.
Police knew of A.J. Brown Jr. prior to his murder, as in May of 2009, he was acquitted of a murder himself. On January 11th, 2008, a huge fight broke out in a crowd that was originally from a house party of up to 100 people. During the fight, multiple people sustained stab wounds as a result of multiple different altercations within the massive crowd. 16-year-old Tykwan Hunt was found fatally stabbed near the scene of the fight. A.J. later came forward and admitted to stabbing Tykwan in the chest, but said that it was an act of self defense as Tykwan had pulled a gun out and aimed it at A.J.’s face. During the trial a witness, who had been stabbed himself during the fight, testified that he saw Tykwan himself stab someone. When his body was found, he had a loaded .380 caliber gun in his pants. Tykwan and A.J. both knew of one another, and police knew of Tykwan. They said that he was a member of a local gang called the Money Green Mobb, but Tykwan’s mom denied the gang claim. After Tykwan’s murder, multiple threats were made against A.J. and his family. On multiple occasions, shots were fired into their home. Amos’ dad was well-liked around town and had complained to police about the threats and attacks. He said that his son was being targeted and that the Money Green gang was trying to kill his son. Amos had taken A.J. to Georgia after he was acquitted of the murder charge due to the escalating threats and violence, but they had to come back to Connecticut after they were unable to find steady jobs. It is highly suspected that A.J. was targeted and shot as revenge for stabbing Tykwan Hunt. A.J.’s murder remains unsolved. There is a $50,000 reward for anyone with any information leading to the arrest of the person or people responsible. Anyone with any information on the murder of Amos Brown Jr. is asked to please call the Connecticut Cold Case Hotline at 866-623-8058.
Kanagala Seshadri Rao
Kanagala Seshadri “Sesh” Rao was born and raised in India, where he was known to be great student right from childhood. He was described as being kind-hearted and smart, some even calling him a genius. He enjoyed swimming and badminton, and anything having to do with the computer, whether it was coding or gaming. Rao got his undergraduate degree in India, where it is said he did exceedingly well and impressed professors with his work ethic. In the fall of 2011, Rao enrolled in a 17-month long program at Boston University in order to earn a Master’s of science in mathematical finance. Apparently, over 1,000 people apply annually but only 50 people actually get into the program. On April 5th, 2012, Rao and a classmate of his were in Ringer Park in Boston, Massachusetts when suddenly a group of six men robbed them. The classmate gave up $5 and her laptop, while Rao refused to give the robbers anything. As a result, the men began to beat up Rao, punching and kicking him over and over until they realized the police were coming. Luckily, he was left with only some bruises and minor cuts on his hands and face. Just two weeks later, Rao was walking to the same classmate’s apartment at roughly 2:00 a.m. on April 19th. He had texted her and said he was going to go over and help her fix a mistake he had noticed on a homework assignment. While on his way, Rao was gunned down in the street in a seemingly random act of violence. Rao was shot in the head and the leg and was pronounced dead on the scene. There were no witnesses at the time and there have been hardly any leads since that fateful morning. Anyone with any information on the murder of Kanagala Seshadri Rao is asked to please contact Boston police at 1-(800) 494-TIPS or by texting the word “TIP” to CRIME (27463).
Image sources:
stamfordadvocate.com - “Dead teen’s father says son was ‘ambushed’”
bu.edu - “Murdered GSM Student Identified, Remembered”