HAMDEN, Conn. — The violent carjacking of a 74-year-old Hamden woman has sparked outrage and fear in the community.
On Wednesday, a community safety meeting was held, the identity of the victim was revealed and FOX61 obtained surveillance footage from the day of the attack.
The meeting at the Hamden / Miller Senior Center was well attended and emotionally charged.
During the meeting, a letter written by the victim, 74-year-old Kathy Galasso, was read aloud by another person.
She wrote, “I have two pelvic features that are very painful.”
The surveillance video shows one of three suspects approaching the victim behind her vehicle as she was loading groceries into her car. The suspect throws Galasso to the ground, while a second suspect hops in the passenger seat of her car.
“It happened in a flash. The team was perfectly choreographed and got away in an instant,” wrote Galasso.
A second surveillance clip shows the stolen vehicle with the three suspects inside pulling into the plaza moments before the attack occurred, while a third video showed one of the suspects getting out of the stolen vehicle to go hide behind other cars in the parking lot.
“The incident happened so fast I didn’t have time to be scared. What I am now is angry,” wrote Galasso.
The safety meeting was contentious at times and emotions spilled over.
“Safety and security should come before anything else,” hollered a woman who attended the meeting.
“And it does,” replied Andrew Bermant, who owns the Hamden Plaza. “We spent over $250,000 in the last year improving the security at the shopping center.”
Bermant said they’ve upgraded the lighting and cameras and are extending the hours of private contracted security.
“And in fact, I’ve reached out to other property owners to see if we can create a fund that would help support additional police in Hamden,” added Bermant.
Other Hamden residents spoke out about the incident.
“That’s where this concern is, is that a lot of these attacks seem to be on the elderly and now that I’m elderly, I’m really concerned, let me tell you,” Hamden resident June Pierce said.
“That’s really awful, especially that kind of injury at an advanced age can really be very life-altering,” Eric Paulsen, a Hamden resident, said.
Meanwhile, a police investigation remains open and active to catch the perpetrators, who are believed to be connected to other similar incidents.
“We do have several leads that we are following up on. There have been some arrests in some neighboring jurisdictions since this incident happened. We’ve been seeing with a lot of these stolen cars and carjackings that many of them, though not all, have involved juveniles,” said Detective Shawn Dolan of the Hamden Police Department.
This was the first community conversation that was formally organized but it won’t be the last. A second discussion will take place next Wednesday, March 30 at the Hamden legislative council chambers at 6:30 p.m.
Hamden has seen a rise in petty theft and violent crime, especially with vulnerable and older individuals being targeted. People told me they need more police on the streets but the department is short-staffed by 16 officers. Recruitment efforts are ongoing, but not many people are applying.
Matt Caron is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at mcaron@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Elisha Machado is a reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at emachado@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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