A man shot and killed a construction worker in Bridgeport moments after showing up at a job site to ask for work Thursday morning in what police are calling a "senseless tragedy."
Police said Gregory Weathers, 33, of Bridgeport, arrived at the construction site on Chopsey Hill Road and Pond Street just before 9 a.m. Thursday.
Witnesses told officers Weathers asked the company foreman about a potential job, and the foreman referred him to the company office to fill out an application.
According to police, Weathers walked away, but returned a short time later and "for no apparent reason," fired several shots at the construction crew, hitting and killing a 30-year-old employee who was working in a trench.
Police said the shooter did not know the victim, who has been identified as Milford resident and Burns Construction Company employee Jose Araujo.
He died at St. Vincent's Medical Center.
Two officers who were directing traffic at the construction site chased Weathers and called for backup. They found him hiding behind a house on Saunders Avenue, across the street from where he lives, police said.
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Investigators recovered a handgun and said Weathers admitted to the shooting. He was taken into custody and charged with murder and weapons violations.
Burns Construction said in a statement Thursday afternoon that Araujo "was a truly valued employee for many years."
"He will be greatly missed by all of us here at Burns Construction Company," company officials stated. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Araujo family during this difficult time."
Bridgeport Police Chief Joseph Gaudett said investigators can't begin to understand why Weathers pulled the trigger.
"How do you make sense of something that doesn't make sense?" Gaudett said at a news conference Thursday afternoon. "The reason, we still just don't know."
Gaudett, who seemed shaken, offered his condolences to the Araujo family.
"This is a real tragedy, a real honest-to-goodness tragedy," he said.
Investigators are looking into Weathers' history and will search his home for clues.
