EAST HARTFORD, Conn. — East Hartford police are investigating a shooting on Main Street early Monday morning that sent one person to the hospital.
The shooting happened at the Church Corners Inn, a boarding house, just after 12 a.m. Monday morning. The victim – who has not been identified – was shot twice in the back and is expected to recover.
East Hartford police said a suspect has been identified, but no other information was immediately available.
The shooting took place as the city of East Hartford is in the process of taking over the building officials said has been problematic over the years.
"It’s needless, it shouldn’t have happened," said East Hartford Mayor Mike Walsh, adding: “Quite frankly, 860 Main Street for the 10 to 20 years has destabilized Main Street.”
Church Corners Inn is a boarding house with about 50 units. The mayor said police have been called to the building about 2,500 times – including some reported homicides and assaults – over the last five years.
"We have a number of aggressive panhandlers that reside there, the State Department of Corrections uses it as a way to relocate prisoners exiting the system," said Mayor Walsh.
The town of East Hartford just bought the building, a move approved unanimously by the Town Council. They're determined to put an end to the problem.
Neighbors off camera told FOX61 the crime in the building has them scared to leave their homes at night.
"It’s flatly unacceptable that there’s a place here in East Hartford that causes people to fear," said Rich Kehoe, Town Council Chair.
The town is planning to relocate the residents inside the building and will create 25 new low to moderate-income apartments, a plan they hope will eliminate crime and bring new shops downtown.
"It’s a historic building on the gateway of our community, we’re going to remove everything," said Walsh. "That will stabilize downtown and allow our businesses to get back to business."
"Our downtown is one of the major focal points of our town and it deserves better than what we have right here," said Kehoe.
Officials said there is no threat to the public at this time.
The town will officially own the building in the next 60 to 90 days.
Lindsey Kane is a reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at Lkane@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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