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(Update 12:02 p.m.) A man state police said shot and killed his estranged wife and wounded one of her female relatives at an Oxford home Wednesday morning is in custody.
State Police Lt. J. Paul Vance said at a noon press conference that the man, 46-year-old Scott Gellatly, was located by state troopers at an eatery near Route 8 in Winsted and “taken into custody without incident.”
Vance said troopers charged Gellatly on an outstanding misdemeanor warrant Oxford police had applied for prior to Wednesday’s shooting, but said he didn’t have further details.
A clerk at Superior Court in Derby said Wednesday that Gellatly had no pending criminal cases.
But she said court records wouldn’t include the charges he faces in connection to the warrant until police bring the paperwork to court.
Vance said police would continue to investigate the shooting and seek to file more charges against Gellatly in connection with the incident.
Original post from Wednesday morning follows below
State police said a man shot and killed his estranged wife and wounded one of her relatives at a Sioux Drive home in Oxford early Wednesday.
Cops statewide are searching for the man, who police identified as Scott Gellatly, 46.
About 5:30 a.m. Gellatly entered the house — 43 Sioux Drive — and shot his wife, Laurie, as well as a female relative who was at the home, state police spokesman Lt. J. Paul Vance said.
Laurie Gellatly was pronounced dead at Waterbury Hospital. The second victim is in serious condition at St. Mary’s Hospital, he said.
Gellatly fled the scene in a blue Ford Escape. However, that vehicle was recovered a short distance from the scene of the shooting.
Police said Gellatly may have gotten into a second vehicle, described as a 2012 black Toyota Tacoma pickup truck with a license plate 2741CC.
Vance urged anyone who sees the vehicle to call 911 immediately. A photo of Gellatly released by state police appears to the left.
“We presume him to be armed and dangerous,” Vance said.
Though state police initially believed Gellatly had abducted his estranged wife from the home, Vance said Gellatly didn’t take the woman hostage.
There were also two toddlers in the home. They’re safe and sound, according to Vance.
The truck Gellatly was reportedly traveling in had been sighted several times since the shooting, but Vance said he couldn’t offer further details.
Vance would not comment on an alleged motive for the shooting, but on April 6 Gellatly posted a rambling 448-word message on his publicly accessible Facebook page detailing the deterioration of the couple’s relationship.
Photos on Gellatly’s Facebook profile indicate the couple had other children, but state police said only the two toddlers were inside the home at the time.
Gellatly’s Facebook page indicated he works as a fire systems specialist at Red Hawk Fire & Security, a Florida-based company with offices in Orange.
A woman answering the phone at the company’s Orange office Wednesday morning declined comment and referred a reporter to police.
“Unfortunately, we are not at liberty to discuss any of this,” she said.
Some parents complained at the scene that schoolchildren were allowed to go to to bus stops Wednesday morning during the aftermath of the shooting.
Oxford Schools Superintendent Timothy Connellan said canceling bus routes in the area would have been unsafe.
“If you decide at that point in time during the day to delay a route, what you’re doing is leaving kids standing at a bus stop,” he said. The best thing to do was run those routes and get them done as soon as possible.”
Connellan said security was increased at the town’s schools after the shooting as a precaution.
“There was never an indication from anyone that there was a threat to any of the schools or anyone at any of the schools,” he said.
Police sent cops to stand by at the town’s schools, he said, and students did not change classes.
Emails, text messages, and voicemails were sent to parents to keep them apprised.
Multiple police departments, helicopters, and police dogs are involved in the manhunt for Gellatly.
Neighbor James Smith told the Waterbury-Republican Wednesday that he “heard three gunshots and two or three screams just before 6 a.m.”
Smith dialed 911. As the dispatcher answered his call, he saw his neighbor’s garage door open, then saw “probably Scott running from the house.”
Gellatly then got into a blue SUV and drove away from the scene, Smith said.
“The cops arrived real soon,” Smith said, after which he saw the two victims being taken from the home.
This story will be updated.
