19-year-old suspect in custody after shooting at Connecticut mall leaves 5 people injured
A suspect has been taken into custody in connection to a shooting at a Waterbury, Connecticut, mall that left five people wounded, police said.
Police responded to the Brass Mill Center Mall at about 4:43 p.m. on Tuesday to reports of shots fired. When officers arrived, they located five victims suffering from gunshot wounds.
The suspected gunman has been identified as Tajuan Washington, 19, of Waterbury, Waterbury Police Department Chief Fernando Spagnolo said at a press conference on Wednesday morning.
Washington is being held on a $2 million bond and is charged with five counts of first-degree assault and “a number of weapons violation charges.”
The investigation is ongoing. Washington was to appear in court later Wednesday morning.
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Waterbury Mayor Paul Pernerewski said Wednesday that three of the five victims had been released from the hospital. Two remained hospitalized. The most seriously injured victim was struck in the spine but she “now has feeling in her lower extremities” and “hopefully she does not find herself paralyzed.”
At the press conference, Pernerewski encouraged the public to return to the mall, saying the shooting was not a random act of violence and involved “two young men who knew each other, had a history, a past.”
“They got into a beef here,” he said. “The perpetrator, instead of having what would of at one time been a fist fight, but because he was armed, came out with a pistol, shot the guy he was having a problem with and the four women who were with him as well.” The mall has been searched and secured and “there’s nothing to worry about here,” he said, adding that that city was “obviously very shaken, but we’re not broken,” the mayor added.
“Within minutes, the state’s largest police force, the Connecticut State Police, was on scene assisting the Waterbury Police Department,” Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection Commissioner Ronnell Higgins told reporters. “That collaboration and cooperation isn’t just something that happens in emergencies. That is something that happens regularly here in the city of Waterbury between the state and local and federal law enforcement officials.”
“Gun violence is not something we will ever accept. It is not OK to come to a mall and then find yourself a victim of gun violence. It is not OK for someone to come here to work and then find themselves hiding, sheltering in place.”
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont said of Waterbury, “this is great city and it is a city that is safe and getting safer.”
“This is a terrible tragedy. Hearts and prayers go out to those that were hit, hit hard. I think they’re all going to be OK, fingers crossed. Prayers out there,” the governor said, crediting the Waterbury police for getting to the scene within three minutes.
“This type of crime is just shocking to me,” Lamont said. “A lot of this crime, it maybe is one-off, but they know each other. This is not random acts of violence. This started out with some sort of a beef, some sort of an argument and rather than ending up with a fisty cuff, someone pulls out a semiautomatic and shoots seven rounds and badly wounds five people.”
The governor said work needs to be done in the community to root out “sources of friction,” but said to the public, “I want you back in this mall.”
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Waterbury police announced in a Facebook post late Tuesday that “detectives have identified a person of interest, and he is in police custody at this time.”
Spagnolo told reporters Tuesday that none of the victims were fatally wounded and all of them were transported and treated at area hospitals.
“We do not believe this was a random act of violence,” Spagnolo said Tuesday. “We believe this started as a conflict and it escalated. We do know that there was one gunman at this time [whom] we’ve identified. That gunman was armed with a semi-automatic pistol.”
The chief also said evidence has been recovered from the scene that is helping to identify the type of weapon used, and “hopefully” the shooter, through various investigative means and forensic technology.
State Police, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) are assisting police with the investigation, which includes the collection of video and digital evidence.
“This is going to be a very lengthy and ongoing and active investigation,” Spagnolo said.
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He also said there is currently no danger to the public, though he advised anyone to report anything suspicious to the police.
Lamont called the shooting “tragic” in a post on X.
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“This afternoon there was a tragic mass shooting at the Bass Mill Center in Waterbury, a place where everyone should feel safe. We are grateful to law enforcement, who acted swiftly,” the governor wrote. “Details are still forthcoming, but the @CT_STATE_POLICE will be assisting @WaterburyPD with the investigation. Our hearts break for the Waterbury community, the victims, and their families who have been impacted by this incident.”