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NORWALK, Conn. A man was fatally shot in South Norwalk on Wednesday afternoon, police say.
The black male suffered a single gunshot wound to the abdomen after 3 p.m. in the area of 119 S. Main St., Norwalk Police Sgt. Mark Lepore said. The shooting was not random, according to Sgt. Tom Fern, and police have at least one person of interest in the shooting.
Chief Harry Rilling said at 6 p.m. the victim died. Police do not know the age of the victim, who was pronounced dead at Norwalk Hospital. They are not sure what led up to the shooting.
"We are investigating right now, but we're not making any comments as to cause," Rilling said. "I can tell you that it appears to be unrelated to any of the other incidents that have occurred in the past. It was an isolated, spontaneous incident."
There were rumors of a school bus being involved, but Fern said that was not the case. Although police had some concern for the children in the nearby Side by Side and Columbus Magnet Schools, children were never in danger, he said.
South Main Street was blocked through the afternoon, and cars were being rerouted down Concord Avenue. Residents watched as police investigated at about 4 p.m., when Sgt. Art Weisgerber took photos of what appeared to be a shell casing in front of 119 S. Main St. Police said that a marker in the driveway of the residence signified where the victim was found.
The Rev. Nellie Mann, police chaplain, was quickly on the scene. She said she did not know anything about the victim but said, "It hurts my heart."
"This has got to stop," she said. "It does. We have too many young people dying in this community. ... We have to come together, we really do. It's hard on our community. It's hard on our children."
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