In a scene eerily similar to Newtown, police flooded Willimantic responding to shots fired and an officer down.
Many converged on Tunxis Lane where State Police say the officer got ambushed carrying out a welfare check.
One resident said he saw police quickly carrying the injured officer to an ambulance.
Fred Masse, who was doing tile work in the neighborhood, said the officer was awake, but looked shocked. “Police officer came around the corner, in the police car, pulled another cop out of the back seat and you could see there was blood all down his arm, down the side of his body,” Masse said.
The officer is expected to recover, and the suspected gunman, Andrew Samuolis, 34, was caught on Route 32, near the IGA Supermarket.