Sammy Westfall
Two men were shot in the area of 219 Ashmun St. — a residential area approximately 0.2 miles from the Yale Police Department — slightly after 8 p.m. Wednesday. The New Haven Police Department is investigating the incident.
A Yale Alert informed the community of the shooting incident at 8:34 p.m. The alert said that police were on the scene of the shooting “of a person who was shot a short time ago” in the area of 219 Ashmun St. Yale Emergency Management asked people to avoid the area while the police investigated and to call 911 if anyone needed help. In a later statement to the News,
Yale Police Chief Ronnell Higgins clarified that there were in fact two shooting victims, not one.
New Haven Police Sgt. Brenden Borer, who was at the scene alongside at least six other NHPD officers and detectives, told the News that the victims were being treated at the Yale-New Haven Hospital. He could not give an update on the condition of the victims.
When asked further questions, Borer told the News that the New Haven Police could not comment in detail about active investigations. He could not say if the shooting occurred on the street or inside a home.
Higgins told the News that Yale officers were “near the area” of the shooting at the time and provided assistance. He said that the shooting occurred at around 8:09 p.m. and that it “does not appear” that either of the victims are Yale affiliates.
At around 9:41 p.m., several New Haven Police Department vehicles were stationed around the area, including a police car behind Yale Health. Four more police cars were lined on Webster St. at one edge of the taped-off area, while another car was parked at the other side of the scene on Foote St. Another two black Ford SUV vehicles were in the area, and were confirmed to be New Haven Police Department vehicles.
The area of Ashmun St. between Foote and Webster St. was closed off with caution tape, and the NHPD had placed several numbered evidence-marking cones along the sidewalk of Ashmun street.
A man was lying on the ground outside of a house within the taped area of the scene. Borer told the News that the man was just sleeping and waiting to gain access to his car because his car had been within the investigation boundaries.
Trevor Shim ’20, a former web development editor for the News who lives off-campus on Winchester Ave., said that he felt “terrified” upon reading the Yale Alert of the shooting that occured within 0.3 miles of his house. When he moved off-campus, he thought his home would be in a safe area because it was next to the Yale Police Department at 101 Ashmun St. He said that he will be more cognizant about getting home earlier and avoiding wandering around late at night.
Yale spokesperson Karen Peart told the News that she had nothing further to add to the information shared in the Yale Alert message.
Sammy Westfall | sammy.westfall@yale.edu