Waterbury Police Asking for Help: ‘Kids Are Shooting Each Other’

Those are the words of Waterbury Police Chief Fernando Spagnolo as he tried to make sense of three incidents of shots being fired outside city homes within 45 minutes.

Spagnolo went on to say that "There are kids involved in auto theft. They're stealing guns out of residences, and they're shooting at each other randomly in our communities," according to courant.com.

It's shocking what's been going on with Waterbury's youth and firearms. The following is a summary of what's transpired recently in the streets of Waterbury.

• Shooting of 14-year-old on Thursday, October 7
• Two other shootings happened in the span of 45-minutes
• One child listed in stable condition.
• Two weeks earlier, a 10-year-old was shot, which was one of two shootings 30 minutes apart, and he also survived.
• September 23 - An 18-year-old woman and a 10-year-old boy were wounded a half-hour apart on the same block.

After initial investigations began, Chief Spagnolo learned that some of the recent shootings involved juveniles and young adults. But how are 10 to 14-year-olds gaining access to firearms? 

The Chief is practically begging the legislature for stricter laws that come down on juvenile crime. Car theft and violent crimes are also sharply on the rise in Waterbury. So far, there have been street fights, young adults firing at each other, group violence, and juveniles firing into homes.

Now you can understand why Chief Spagnolo told the Hartford Courant, "We need help!" If you or anyone you know has any information to help Waterbury Police detectives, please call 203-574-6941 or the Crime Stoppers tip line at 203-755-1234.