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The shooting of a young man outside Norwalk Hospital early Thursday is related to all the other recent shootings in the city, Norwalk Police say. Evidence was sent to Quantico, Va., for analysis by federal investigators in an effort to get information quickly. The city has sought the help of federal authorities before, but there are criteria that need to be met and the violence hadn't met that level. With a shooting outside the hospital, that threshold was reached, Mayor Richard Moccia said.
Police say four shots were fired at the 22-year-old after he exited the hospital's Emergency Room at 12:11 a.m. They believe that people knew he had been in hospital for medical treatment and were waiting for him to come out. The victim was shot in the leg and was brought back into the ER for treatment. He remains in the hospital, and detectives were hoping to meet with him this afternoon. No one in the hospital was injured.
No arrests have been made, although police stopped two men shortly after the shooting and seized their vehicle.
Police say the shooting is related to all the other recent shootings in Norwalk. Chief Harry Rilling and Mayor Moccia said that a group of 10-12 people are responsible for the recent uptick in violence. Deputy Chief Thomas Kulhawik thinks the group is involved in about 15 shootings over the past two years. That includes incidents of shots fired, and incidents of people being shot or killed. Investigating the crimes is difficult, officers say, because the young people are adhering to a strict "no snitch" rule and police have no information to work with.
Kulhawik said that in a "vast majority of cases" police know who did the shooting. But they cannot get the evidence they need to make an arrest.
Police are asking the community for help. There will be a Stop the Violence meeting at 6:30 p.m. Friday in City Hall's community room.
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