Connecticut Shooting, Two Police Officers Were Killed
Authorities stated early Thursday that two police officers were killed and another was critically injured in a shooting in Bristol, Connecticut.
The deaths were announced on Twitter by the Connecticut State Police. No further information was provided, including the officers’ identities, departments, or the conditions under which they were working. “We are currently working carefully to acquire factual information from our detectives and all those involved,” the state police said, later revealing that the two killed policemen would be escorted from Bristol Hospital to the medical examiner’s office in Farmington by a procession.
On Thursday morning, both the state police and the Bristol Police Department declined to provide any additional information. According to WFSB, the incident happened late Wednesday in a quiet neighborhood on Redstone Hill Road in Bristol, a town in central Connecticut about 80 miles northeast of New York City.
One witness at the location informed that he heard many rounds of gunfire and later heard a helicopter overhead. Two police officers were killed and another was badly injured in an officer-involved shooting in Bristol late Wednesday night, according to Connecticut State Police.
Police have not released any information about the event, and it is unclear which department the cops belonged to. According to local media, the incident happened late Wednesday night in a residential area. At around 11 p.m., State Police responded to reports of a police shooting.
State police have requested prayers for the families of the slain officers as well as the officer who is in the hospital. The State Police said in a statement that the initial 911 call could have been a deception and that its investigation revealed the call was placed in a “deliberate effort Officials provided no explanation for how they arrived at that first decision. They also haven’t indicated who fired first.
Further queries were addressed to the state’s attorney’s office, which did not immediately reply to demands for comment. Bristol, Connecticut, is a town of around 60,000 people located in central Connecticut, about 80 miles northeast of Midtown Manhattan. A suspected confrontation was reported to its Police Department at 10:29 p.m. on Wednesday. between two brothers, according to Connecticut State Police Sgt. Christine Jeltema.
When the cops came, Nicholas Butcher was already standing outside the house and began shooting at them, according to officials. Mr. Hamzy was killed on the spot, while Sergeant Demonte was transported to the hospital and confirmed dead.
Officer Iurato, who was hired in 2018, was rushed to St. Francis Hospital in Hartford for surgery, according to Bristol Police Chief Brian Gould. According to officials, he was released from the hospital shortly after 11 a.m. on Thursday. Nathan Butcher, who was also shot, was brought to the hospital. His status is uncertain, and it is unclear whether he was shot by police or by his brother. However, he has not been named as a suspect in the incident.
Neighbors say they were surprised when police officers flooded their quiet residential neighborhood on Thursday morning. Screaming and at least a dozen gunshots were reported by several witnesses the night of the incident, Norberto Rodriguez, who lives across the street from where the shooting occurred, According to the witness, a man dressed in camouflage emerged from the house with a rifle on Wednesday night. According to Mr. Rodriguez, the man with the rifle shot the second man after another man ran out to hold him. A neighboring resident, Robyn Lauzon, said she heard a sequence of fast gunshots followed by “a woman yelling, ‘You killed them.’ She went on to say that the act was all the more disturbing because of the circumstances Chief Gould described the incident on Wednesday as “senseless violence.”
According to sources, the State Police’s major crimes unit is still investigating what may have led to the attack. According to WABC, a news station, the incident occurred after police reacted to an altercation at a pub in Bristol, according to an unnamed police officer. The information has not been independently corroborated by the New York Times.
In a statement, Gov. Ned Lamont said the killing was a “devastating reminder of the perils that police officers face every day.” He directed that all flags in the state be lowered in remembrance of the murdered officers. This year has seen fewer police officers killed than the previous year.
According to information gathered by According to the FBI, 49 law enforcement personnel were killed in the first nine months of 2022, compared to 54 in the same period in 2021. However, ambushes have killed ten people in 2022, which is twice as many as the previous year.
Mr. Lamont attended a vigil and gathering at Bristol Eastern High School on Thursday evening, where Officer Hamzy had been a student. The auditorium at the high school was packed, with town people filling the seats and uniformed police officers standing along the walls to offer their respects. At the vigil, Bristol’s mayor, Jeff Caggiano, remarked, “This is a very tough night for our town.”
Sergeant Demonte joined the Bristol Police Department in 2012 and was promoted to his current position last year. Throughout the division, He had previously served as a resource officer at two public schools in Bristol, which has 122 officers and was most recently assigned to the patrol division.
In a letter to parents and children, Bristol Public Schools Superintendent Catherine M. Carbone wrote, “Sergeant Demonte was incredibly brilliant at connecting with our students, and those of us who worked with him counted ourselves lucky to call him a friend.” Sergeant Demonte is survived by his wife and two children, with a third child on the way, according to Chief Gould
Officer Hamzy, who grew up in Bristol, joined the force in 2014, according to Chief Gould. His wife survives him. “These individuals honestly, truly enjoyed serving this community,” Chief Gould said at Thursday night’s vigil.
The vigil was one of several memorials held in memory of the two killed officers. A parade of police cars, with emergency lights flashing, accompanied Sergeant Demonte’s body to the medical examiner’s office in Farmington around 7 a.m. on Thursday.
Around 11 a.m., another procession took Mr. Hamzy’s body. The body was transported from the crime scene to the same office. Officers from various Connecticut law enforcement organizations lined neighboring roadways to offer their respects as the procession passed.
