Updated 6 p.m.
NORWALK, Conn. A man was shot Friday afternoon two blocks from Jefferson Elementary School in Norwalk while school was in session, police said. Children were playing in the school yard when shots rang out, witnesses said. Dismissal was delayed at Jefferson and two other nearby public schools.
The victim is a 23 years old, Chief Harry Rilling said. He arrived at Norwak Hospital at about 1:40 p.m. after the shooting near Grandview Avenue and Kellogg Street, police said. The man was shot multiple times and was in serious condition, police sources said. Rilling said the shooting was not random.
A witness who lives on a nearby side street said he heard a large boom, like a large caliber pistol or shotgun, and then rapid-fire "pow pow pow." Another witness said she heard six to seven shots.
Dismissal was delayed at Ponus Ridge Middle School and Jefferson and Kendall Elementary Schools because of the shooting.
Children at Jefferson were outside having a picnic at their new playground to celebrate the upcoming end of the school year when the shots were heard. A man who lives across the street said he heard the shots and went outside to see what had happened. When he saw the kids in the school yard, he thought it had been fireworks. After the victim reported the shooting, the students were hustled inside, leaving their belongings behind.
The children were released from Jefferson Elementary at about 3 p.m. One student said the teacher closed all the windows and shades. A mother of a student being dismissed said she was "shocked" by the shooting.
Police had put out nine evidence markers in the area.
Beverly Cogswell has been a crossing guard at Grandview and Prospect Avenue for more than 30 years. "It gets crazier every year," she said, referring to her problems dealing with parents at school drop-off times. "But this is the worst."
Check back with The Norwalk Daily Voice for details as this story develops.
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