By Justin Muszynski
Source Hartford Courant
One person was killed during an exchange of gunfire with police as authorities were trying to carry out a search warrant at an apartment in New Haven on Wednesday morning, leading to two West Haven officers suffering gunshot wounds.
The officers suffered non-life-threatening injuries while trying to carry out a search warrant at an apartment building in the 700 block of Grand Avenue around 5:30 a.m., according to Karl Jacobson, chief of the New Haven Police Department.
Jacobson said at a morning news briefing that authorities at the scene included officers on a task force from multiple police departments. As the first officers entered through the door of the apartment, one of them was shot and in a position where police could not immediately get him out right away as the suspect was firing multiple gunshots, according to Jacobson.
Jacobson said there was an exchange of gunfire that led to a “standoff” situation at the first-floor apartment, where three other people were inside including an 8-year-old girl, an elderly man and a woman believed to be the girlfriend of the man who was killed.
“Thank God the individuals in the apartment are OK,” New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker said at the news briefing. “You can imagine just how scary this incident was for them.”
According to Jacobson, there was a “period of time” after shots were fired when police were calling out to the suspect and did not get a response. Numerous New Haven officers responded to the scene and evacuated the apartment building.
Jacobson said police later learned that the suspect was killed after being struck by gunfire. His identity has not been released. According to Jacobson, he was not registered as a tenant of the apartment.
Both officers who were shot were taken to an area hospital.
“We’re praying for them and hoping they’re OK,” Jacobson said.
Jacobson said the search warrant police were trying to carry out was a state warrant out of West Haven. He declined to release further details about the warrant and said in the morning hours that he had not yet seen it.
The shooting is being investigated by the state Office of the Inspector General with assistance from the New Haven State’s Attorney’s Office. Authorities said any additional details about the shooting would have to come from the Inspector General’s Office.
By law, the office is required to release body or dashboard camera footage from officer-involved shootings within 96 hours of when they occur.
_____________
©2025 Hartford Courant.
Visit courant.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
