New Haven Independent

Gorham (pictured) was “half asleep” at the time. At first, she said, “I thought it was shooting in the show.” Then she went to her window, opened the blinds — and saw a real-life crime scene.

Police taped off her block of Bassett Street, between Butler and Shepard, a stone’s throw from Lincoln-Bassett School. Gorham and her neighbors on Division Street stood outside watching at least a dozen cops hunt for clues to a shooting that left at least seven shell casings on the street and a man hospitalized with a leg injury.

Police hadn’t yet interviewed the victim Sunday morning because he had to be rushed to the operating room at Yale-New Haven Hospital, according to Sgt. Al Vazquez (pictured at the scene). The shooter got away. Vazquez identified the victim as Troy Kelly and said he’s in his 30s. Kelly was hit in the leg, according to Vazquez, who called the injuries non-life-threatening.

Neighbors are accustomed to hearing gunshots in this stretch of Newhallville. But Sunday morning was different, said Arnold Harris — the shots were louder, and closer.

“The first [shot] sounded like a cannon,” said Harris (pictured), who lives two doors down from Gorham. After a 30-second pause, he heard at least four or five more shots in rapid succession, he said. “The others sounded [small] like a pea shooter.”

Harris was in bed at the time. He leaped out, threw on clothes, and came out to see what had happened. Harris has lived in the house since the 1970s, he said. “We hear shots often — because of the [police] shooting range on Sherman Parkway. You can hear that here.” And he’s accustomed to hearing shots from other blocks. But this was the closest to home of any incident he could recall.

Several people called the cops to alert them to the shooting. The city’s new “ShotSpotter” also relayed the information that a shooting had occurred. Cops located and marked off seven shell casings right at that spot in the street.

One early clue for the police was an abandoned bike near the Butler Street end of the block. A witness told police she heard the gunshots then saw two young men flee the scene on a single bicycle.

Another clue was a Mitsubishi at the Shepard Street end of the block. Police found it crashed into another car, engine still running — and no one inside. Vazquez said Sunday morning it was too early to know if the victim had been driving that car or walking.