13-year-old girl injured in New Haven shooting
A crime scene was located near the entrance of the pediatric unit of Yale New Haven Hospital
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WFSB) - A 13-year-old is being treated for gunshot wounds following a shooting in New Haven early Sunday morning.
New Haven received a ShotSpotter notification around 2:50 a.m. notifying them six rounds were fired near 103 Davenport Avenue.
A short time later, Yale New Haven Hospital security notified police of a person shot in the parking lot of the Yale New Haven Pediatric entrance.
Police located a crime scene by the front entrance of Yale New Haven Pediatrics where four fired cartridge casings were found.
Hospital staff brought the injured 13-year-old girl to the pediatric emergency room where her injuries were determined to be non-life threatening.
New Haven police say no one else at the hospital was involved in this incident, and the shooting was not a deliberate attack on the hospital or its personnel.
They say, instead, surveillance video showed a silver Kia SUV and a black Hyundai Elantra were in the area at the time of the incident.
One of the vehicles fired shots at the other, hitting the 13-year-old girl in the process.
“Stolen cars, gunshots, violence has got to stop,” said Rob Zawatsky, Hospital Visitor. “I have children of my own, so when you hear that, you’re like, ‘Oh my goodness.’”
Police found the stolen vehicles unoccupied at the intersection of Asylum Street and Sylvan Ave. with the lights on and running. Both cars were unreported stolen vehicles and were taken in for processing.
“We will not accept that a thirteen-year-old was shot in our city,” said Chief of Police Karl Jacobson.
“When a thirteen-year-old girl gets shot, it breaks your heart,” said Mayor Justin Elicker, (D) New Haven. “This incident appears to have been targeted, so it’s very important for people to understand that it doesn’t appear that there was a random person walking down the street.”
She is now out of the hospital.
Chief Jacobson has met with the Yale Police Department and Protective Services of YNHH to ensure the safety of everyone in and around the hospital, police said.
New Haven’s police chief stressed the hospital wasn’t targeted, and it just happened to be the location of where the shots were fired.
It’s not the first time something like this happened near the hospital.
“We’re getting numb. We’re getting numb to the violence,” said a New Haven man.
This man did not want to be identified, but he said he’s had it with the recent gun violence.
“I live in the neighborhood and the crime is coming into the neighborhood, the Hill area. There are hardworking folks around here,” the man said.
“We have some video of two cars chasing each other, one car then fires on the car in which the 13-year-old is a passenger in the car,” said Jacobson.
“We don’t believe she was the intended target or even the person who stole the vehicle, but we’re looking into the case as a whole and trying to make sure this situation doesn’t happen again with people so young,” Jacobson said.
While the hospital was not targeted, it’s not the first time police have responded to this area for a shooting.
Back in May shots were fired during a road rage incident, with bullets even hitting a parking attendant’s booth.
“We are on it, we have some good intelligence on it, but it is dangerous, and we ask parents to make sure their kids our safe, parents help us do that,” said Jacobson about the most recent shooting.
Jacobson did not want to get into the specifics, but he said police know who was in one of the cars, and detectives have some good leads as well.
Jacobson added they are increasing patrols in the area so hospital visitors and staff feel safe.
“We’ll do everything we can to identify the person who did this,” said Elicker.
Police are asking anyone with information to contact the department.
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