NEW HAVEN, Conn. — New Haven Police are trying to find out who may have shot multiple times at the home belonging to one of the city's top public school officials.
Assistant Superintendent of Schools Paul Whyte told the New Haven Register that bullets entered an office, a bedroom, and the living room of his home Friday evening. One neighbor told the newspaper she heard as many as six shots.
"It was, 'pop, pop, pop, pop.' It wasn't like a rash of shots," said New Haven Board of Education member Tamiko Jackson-McArthur, who said she lives diagonally across from Whyte's home in the city's Beaver Hills neighborhood. "It was single shots, like five or six."
Whyte said he, his wife, and mother-in-law were home at the time of the shooting, which occurred at about 7:30 p.m.
"Everyone's physically OK. We're just very shaken," said Whyte, who told the newspaper he didn't think he was specifically targeted.
New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker said in a statement that he visited Whyte and his family Friday night after learning about the shooting. While no one was physically harmed, he said it's a "reminder that, with crime on the rise nationally and in our city, bullets have no name. We are very lucky in this instance that no one was hurt. This stresses the important work we are doing as a City to stop gun violence in both the short-term and long-term."
The Mayor's statement went on to directly address "those who continue to wreak havoc in our communities, divide us further with gun violence, and have no respect for the safety of our neighbors", saying "We are putting you on notice. Your violent actions will have real consequences. The New Haven Police Department is working diligently to get to the bottom of this instance, as well as the many other violent acts that have continued to plague our community. If you have any information pertaining to any ongoing investigations call the NHPD at (203) 946-6304.
I understand that many who are affiliated with group-involved violence and street groups often don’t know how to shake their allegiance to this group identity. We are ready to support you if you want to leave that life behind."
