Police arrested three men after allegedly shooting a man some five times in the middle of Chapel Street Tuesday.
Daycus Bailey, 26, of Olson Drive, Ansonia; Steven Cook, 28, of Carlson Street, New Britain; and Robert Smith, 28, of Lester Street, Ansonia were each charged with first degree assault with a firearm and conspiracy to commit first-degree assault with a firearm.
They were all being held on $1 million bonds pending court appearances Wednesday in Superior Court in Derby.
Bailey, Cook and Smith allegedly worked together in what appears to be an ambush-style afternoon shooting of 33-year-old Ansonia resident Kierron Stanley, who was rushed to Yale-New Haven Hospital.
Police initially said his wounds did not appear life threatening, but his condition wasn’t available late Tuesday.
Detectives are still trying to piece together precisely what happened, but department spokesman Lt. Sal Frosceno said the shooting didn’t appear to be random.
“On its face, it does not appear to be a random act of violence,” he said.
Crash, Then Gunshots
The incident began at about 3:40 p.m., when a white sedan — thought to be a Crown Victoria — collided with Stanley’s green GMC truck at the intersection of Chapel and Elm streets.
Someone then opened fire on Stanley, who had stepped out of his truck, police said.
A neighbor said Stanley managed to walk back to Whalley Glass Co., a division of Curved Glass Distributors, at 72 Chapel St., where he works.
A call seeking comment was left with the business.
Click here for a map of the area.
Bailey, Cook and Smith ran from the scene, with at least one man cutting through a yard and toward nearby railroad tracks along the Housatonic River.
A neighbor said police were on the scene “within 20 seconds.”
Frosceno said two detectives were in the neighborhood on an unrelated matter and rushed to the scene after hearing the crash and gunshots.
By 4 p.m., one man was in custody (see video), while Stanley was in the back of an ambulance turning onto Route 34, heading toward Yale-New Haven.
A woman who apparently knew Stanley arrived at the scene shortly thereafter. She asked a man from Whalley Glass what was happening.
“It’s OK, he was talking, he was talking,” the worker said, referring to the shooting victim.
Later, a man who identified himself as the victim’s father told reporters that Stanley was expected to pull through.
Manhunt
The shooting set off an extensive manhunt.
Plain clothes officers searched behind homes, guns drawn. Another officer searched the deeper woods armed with what looked like an AR-15 assault rifle.
Canine units from Hamden and Shelton were brought in. Later in the day the State Police Major Crime Squad arrived to help process the crime scene.
Several residents had to wait before they could get back into their houses, as police closed Chapel Street at Burtville Avenue.
At 7:15 p.m., police announced they had three suspects in custody.
Canine units continued to roam the area, at one point crossing busy Route 34 to explore a wooded area behind houses.
Those officers were apparently trying to recover the gun used to shoot Stanley.
Police cast a wide net in their search, which stretched to both sides of Route 34 and along the banks of the Housatonic River.
“We’ll continue to search for that weapon come daybreak,” Frosceno said.
As detectives continue their investigation, anyone with information should call police at (203) 735-7811.
The following story was posted at 7:52 p.m. Tuesday.
State police, along with canine police units from Hamden and Shelton, were still at the scene as of 8 p.m.
Neighbors at the scene said a white sedan, possibly a Crown Victoria, rammed into a green, late model GMC SUV at about 3:40 p.m.
The men in the Crown Vic then opened fire on the driver of the GMC, striking him several times, according to police.
There are conflicting reports from the scene, but one neighbor said the victim managed to walk to nearby Curved Glass Distributors at 72 Chapel St., where he may have worked.
A message seeking comment was left Tuesday afternoon with the business owner.
The victim’s wounds do not appear to be life-threatening, according to Lt. Sal Frosceno.
The suspects then fled on foot.
Derby police, some carrying handguns, others with high-powered rifles, then canvassed the area searching for the suspects. Much of the search concentrated on railroad tracks along the Housatonic River.
One person, a young man wearing a white T-shirt, was taken into custody shortly after the shooting (see video above).
The other two were captured a short time later, but police did not say where.
As of 7:15 p.m., no charges had been filed, according to Frosceno. Police were still searching for the gun used in the shooting.
The license plate of the suspect’s vehicle was reported stolen, Frosceno said.
What follows is our original story, filed from the scene at 4:28 p.m.
Police are searching for a gunman suspected of shooting a man at the intersection of Elm and Chapel streets in Derby.
According to a neighbor, two cars collided at the intersection just before 4 p.m. Tuesday. The occupant of one car, a white four-door sedan, got out and fired three shots into the driver’s side window of the second vehicle, a large sport utility vehicle, the neighbor said.
One person has been taken into custody (see video above) by the Derby Police Department and authorities are searching for a second suspect in the shooting.
As of 5:52 p.m., authorities have said nothing to the media about the incident.
The driver of the SUV was able to get out of the car and walk down Chapel Street to Curved Glass Distributors to get help.
He was taken away in an ambulance at 4 p.m.
It’s not clear if there was anyone else in the SUV at the time of the shooting.
There are six Derby police officers and the Shelton K-9 unit on scene, which is off Route 34, near where the Derby Dodge used to be located.
At 5:46 p.m., a state police crime scene truck arrived at the location. Meanwhile, a police crossed busy Route 34 during rush hour and are searching behind houses on the northerly side of the road.
