WATERBURY, Conn. — Police are on the hunt for the suspects responsible in a rash of shootings that occurred in the Brass City on Thursday.
The most recent incident involved a 10-year-old boy being shot in the rib area and a 20-year-old man shot in the leg on Congress Avenue shortly before 7:30 p.m.
Police said both victims were related and suffered non-life threatening injuries.
A neighbor who lived down the street told FOX61 that his girlfriend heard the shots.
"She just heard a couple of blasts," Tomas Olivo said. "She was in the kitchen. She got very frightened."
Olivo said he came home to his street being blocked off by police Thursday evening. His immediate thought was hoping his girlfriend and their 3-year-old were okay.
"Thinking about raising your kid in an environment when it’s not safe is something to be worried about," Olivo added.
Police addressed the incident in a news conference Friday afternoon.
"It’s very disheartening," Waterbury Police Chief Fernando Spagnolo said. "It’s frankly sickening to myself and members of this police department, and members of this community and the mayor that such a young child will be stricken by this type of violence."
Two other shootings also took place Thursday, but police say they are unrelated.
Three hours before the Congress Avenue incident, police said a woman was shot in the buttocks on John Street. Her injuries were also non-life threatening.
At 12:30 a.m., a man was shot in his left hand. It was later determined that incident started with a fight in a nearby parking lot by Barley Corn Cafe on Store Avenue.
"It’s a small group of people. These people are engaged in group violence. They’re engaged in auto theft," Chief Spagnolo added. "We’ve been talking about it for a long time. We need the assistance of our legislation in trying to change some of these laws."
He added two stolen vehicles were recovered from the shootings, one of them was on Congress Avenue.
Residents and police asked for help from lawmakers in addressing the uptick in crimes, specifically when it comes to juveniles being responsible.
"That seems to be a no brainer right that they should be advancements made. I don’t know if it’s more police patrolling or whether it’s on foot or in cars," said Sheila Dardis of Waterbury.
So far, police have no announced any arrests but if you witnessed anything in any of the three shootings, you are urged to contact Waterbury Police immediately.
Carmen Chau is an anchor and reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at cchau@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter.
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