BRISTOL, Conn. — A man had to be flown to a hospital with serious injuries after being shot Tuesday morning in Bristol during a road rage incident, police said.
Police said the shooting happened around 6 a.m. near the intersection of Broad and Emmett Streets, one of the town’s main thoroughfares that carries traffic to Route 72. The road was closed for a majority of the day while police gathered evidence.
“The operators became involved in a confrontation. During that confrontation shots were fired by one of the individuals striking the other,” explained Interim Bristol Police Chief Mark Morello.
The early morning road rage incident ended in shots fired. It involved two men and two vehicles both with out of state license plates but Chief Morello said, “At this point we believe they are both Connecticut residents.”
Police wouldn't say who was involved, but one of the vehicles was a 2011 Ford F-150 with New Hampshire plates. It was also a New York State Certified Escort Vehicle. According to the New York DMV, these vehicles are specially licensed to escort bulky oversized cargo loads on New York highways. The other vehicle was a 2014 Subaru Forester with South Carolina plates.
“Why would you be in that type of mental discourse?” asked Bristol resident Pat Murphy.
“There’s no need for it. It’s unnecessary and someone got brought by LifeStar to the hospital. That’s terrible,” added resident Laura Gagnon.
That wounded man is still fighting for his life.
“We know it’s serious,” said Morello. “He was transported to a trauma center and there was certainly more than one gunshot.”
Police said the two men did not know each other. Despite the confrontation, no one has been arrested, including the shooter.
“The individual stayed on scene, called 911 and is cooperative,” said Morello.
Residents said Broad Street is notorious for speeding drivers.
“It’s very busy especially when people are coming off the highway down 72 and 84 they speed and it’s very scary,” said Gagnon.
Police emphasize that cooler heads prevail on the road.
“We really want to remind the public to avoid confrontation. If they are the victim or are witnessing aggressive driving or feel like there’s aggressive driving taking place, they can call the police at any time to report that,” said Morello.
Bristol police said there was no threat to the public, and it was an isolated incident.
If anyone has information about the road rage incident or the shooting, they're asked to call Detective Doyle at 860-314-4572.
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Matt Caron is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at mcaron@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.
Jennifer Glatz is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jglatz@fox61.com.
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