Investigators say the fatal encounter unfolded before dawn, and the city’s response has centered on Cramer’s family and service.
STRATFORD, Conn. — The fatal shooting of Bridgeport firefighter Terrence Cramer before dawn Saturday has left a city department grieving, a family in mourning and prosecutors building a murder case against a man police say tracked down an ex-girlfriend at a Stratford home.
Cramer’s death quickly became more than a homicide investigation. He was a 41-year-old active-duty firefighter, a father of two young boys and a familiar face in the Bridgeport Fire Department after more than nine years on the job. As police pieced together what happened inside the Feeley Street home, city leaders lowered flags, fellow firefighters spoke of losing a trusted co-worker, and the criminal case against Jabari Bush moved from arrest to arraignment within two days.
The first emergency call came at about 1:44 a.m. Saturday, when Stratford police were sent to Feeley Street for a reported shooting. Officers arrived to find Cramer bleeding heavily from a gunshot wound, authorities said. Paramedics tried to save him, but he was pronounced dead a short time later. By Saturday afternoon, detectives had identified Bush, a West Haven resident, as the suspect and arrested him in Derby after a brief vehicle chase. Police said he was taken into custody at about 4:30 p.m. and charged under a felony arrest warrant. The speed of that arrest reflected what Stratford police later described as an all-hands investigation involving help from New Haven, Derby, Seymour, Shelton and the Connecticut State Police.
In the account later laid out in court papers, investigators said Bush went to the home of his ex-girlfriend, entered the residence and confronted her after finding Cramer in bed with her. The woman told police Bush had resumed contacting her in recent weeks after she ended their relationship for good in January. She said he appeared at her workplace, sent repeated messages and came to her Stratford home unannounced shortly before the shooting. Ring camera footage cited in the affidavit showed Bush at the door several times overnight, including moments before the gunfire, investigators said. Police reported no signs of forced entry, leaving open the claim that the door may have been unlocked. The affidavit says the woman woke to Bush yelling and then saw flashes consistent with gunfire after he struck her in the face.
For Bridgeport, the death landed hardest inside the firehouses. The department said Cramer served the city with dedication and honor for about 9.5 years. Fellow firefighters remembered him as steady, humble and deeply committed to his children. Jean-Claude Rasuk said the news stunned crews who were called together early that morning. Assistant Chief Armando Cora said Cramer was the kind of firefighter who showed up without complaint and helped whenever needed. Mayor Joe Ganim said city flags would fly at half-staff and joined the department in mourning what he called a tragic loss. Those public tributes turned the story from a crime report into a civic loss, especially in a department where line-of-duty discipline and off-duty friendship often overlap.
By Monday, the legal response was moving almost as visibly as the mourning. Bush appeared in Bridgeport Superior Court on charges that include murder, home invasion, criminal possession of a weapon and unlawful discharge of a firearm. The judge set bond at $3 million and continued the case to April 14. Prosecutors described the allegations as especially violent, while the defense argued Bush had work history and ties to the community. Some questions remain unresolved in public, including whether additional forensic evidence will shape the case, whether the woman at the scene will face extended cross-examination over prior contact with Bush, and how prosecutors will present the Ring footage and phone records described by investigators. Police have not indicated any other suspects, and officials have not suggested Cramer was armed.
The city now stands between remembrance and prosecution. Firefighters who packed the courthouse came to support Cramer, but their presence also signaled how closely the case will be followed as it moves forward. For now, Terrence Cramer is being remembered in Bridgeport as a father, colleague and public servant, while the next formal step in the case is set for April 14.
Author note: Last updated March 31, 2026.