Man barricades himself inside a Connecticut hair salon and fires shots into shopping plaza injuring at least one
- Police are responding to reports of a gunman at a hair salon in Branford
- Local media report a man inside firing shots at the officers outside
- At least one person has been hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries
- Police were called just after midday with reports of a man firing from inside
- A stand-off has continued for over five hours, with a man police call ‘Matt’
Police in Connecticut are responding to an active shooter situation in Branford, and are trying to end a stand-off that began more than five hours ago.
Officers were pinned down when they first responded to calls reporting a person inside a hair salon near Main Street and Cherry Hill Road.
The gunman is believed to be barricaded inside the building in the coastal town, and is firing shots at police officers.
Branford police said their team ‘continues to work towards a peaceful solution.’
At least one person was taken to the hospital with injuries believed to be non-life-threatening, Branford police said.
Steve Milano, manager of Richlin Home and Auto, said he heard the first burst of gunfire about 11:50 a.m.
As of 2:20pm, he told The Hartford Courant, he estimated 200-300 rounds had been fired.
The person was ‘firing indiscriminately’ some 85 feet away, he said.
Police in Branford, around six miles east of New Haven, are negotiating with a gunman
Officers were called around midday to reports of a gunman firing at people from a hair salon
When police arrived, the gunman fired at them.
‘It’s crazy, I’ve never seen anything like this,’ Milano said.
SWAT teams and Connecticut State Police are assisting local officers.
Witnesses told the station that a man, who police are referring to as ‘Matt’, according to Fox 61 News, is also firing shots at people in the shopping plaza.
The situation began at midday, when police received the first 911 calls.
Responding officers received heavy gunfire coming from the upper floors of the building.
Gunfire was coming from the upper floors of a building on Main Street and Cherry Hill Road
A Connecticut state trooper seen near Main Street in Branford, where a man is barricaded inside
A witness told Fox that they heard at least eight to 10 gunshots, followed by another round of multiple shots.
Some residents in the area have been evacuated.
Branford, a town of 28,000 people, is six miles east of New Haven, on the Long Island Sound.
Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut’s two senators, both said they were monitoring events.
Murphy said he was ‘praying for my state’.
