West Hartford Police Investigating Shooting in Fern Street Area [Updated]
Fern Street near Cobbs Road and Fernridge Road in West Hartford was closed for several hours Wednesday morning for the investigation. [Updated]
Fern Street closed by West Hartford Police due to a police investigation. Photo credit: Matthew Wentworth
By Ronni Newton
West Hartford Police are investigating a shooting incident in the Fern Street area near Fernridge Park that took place in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
According to Capt. Michael Perruccio, the investigation began at 1:18 a.m.
Perruccio said that one victim, who was suffering from non-life-threatening injuries, was located and transported to a local hospital via ambulance.
Perruccio could not provide further details about the age or sex of the victim, or whether the injuries were related to a shooting.
WFSB reported Wednesday morning that their crew saw a vehicle with bullet holes being towed from the scene, but West Hartford Police said they could not comment on that statement.
The following message appears to have been shared Wednesday morning by West Hartford Police on the Ring app, while the investigation was still underway:
Screenshot
Perruccio said he could not comment on the Ring app post.
The investigation remains very active, and police said there is no risk to the public.
Late Wednesday afternoon, West Hartford Town Manager Matt Hart noted that the investigation is still ongoing. He said he could not comment on the exchange of gunfire, and whether or not it occurred between two vehicles that, according to the message on the Ring app, appear to have been involved in the incident.
While Hart said that the event is concerning, and any event like this is concerning, he said the town has invested in the police department and they have the resources needed. He told We-Ha.com that “I’m really confident in the ability of our police department and confident that they’ll be able to identify a suspect soon.”
At a meeting of the Town Council’s Public Safety Committee Wednesday night, Police Chief Vernon Riddick provided an update on the investigation. He said the Community Services Unit and all detectives in the department are all focused on the incident and are working hard to piece things together in order to make an arrest.
Riddick said the shooting was targeted, and the department is “very confident that this was not random. The individuals do know each other,” he said.
“I do want folks to feel that they’re safe, our town is safe,” Riddick said.
No further details are being released at this time.
Fern Street was closed for several hours Wednesday morning due to the police activity, but reopened shortly after 9:30 a.m.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call West Hartford Police at 860-523-5203.
This story will be updated as additional details are received.
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When there is a shooting in my neighborhood I would hope that my tax funded police department would notify me whether I had chosen to buy a particular brand of doorbell or not. Why is this information from a public service only available to Ring/Amazon customers?
Well it’s not, you have it right here
Steve, I have asked that question as well. The police have a video sharing arrangement with Ring, but I have asked why this message was only shared through the app. ~Ronni
Steve, reading between the lines, it would appear that the police were less interested in notifying residents about a shooting in their neighborhood than in obtaining video from home surveillance systems to aid in their investigation.