Melissa Bailey Photo
(Updated 7:35 p.m.) When a man tried to rob someone at knifepoint in Wooster Square Park Monday afternoon, he ended up going to the hospital with a gunshot wound, police said.
The shooting took place in the street at 21 Wooster Place at 1:03 p.m., according to police spokesman Officer Joe Avery.
Avery said the incident started when a man pulled out a knife and tried to mug someone. Instead of handing over his money, the would-be mugging victim pulled out a gun. He shot the mugger once in the chest, according to Avery.
Avery said a witness reported seeing the two men struggle, and then heard gunfire.
The would-be mugger, who’s 40, was taken to Yale-New Haven Hospital, Avery said. He was listed in stable condition Monday evening.
The shooter, who’s 65 and lives out of town, was licensed to carry his firearm, Avery said. He was interviewed and released from police custody.
The incident took place outside the Polly McCabe school, which is housed at the Conte/West School, on the border of the park.
The shooting drew neighbors to the park from a several blocks away. Neighbor Jane Lederer (pictured) said she saw police and stepped out with her labradoodle, Rosy, to find out what was going on. She said the police response was plentiful: She counted over a dozen cop cars.
Lederer has lived in the neighborhood for 10 years. She said she was shocked to learn what had happened.
“While there has been the occasional mugging, we haven’t seen anything like this,” she said.
Police guarded several pieces of evidence until the Bureau of Identification arrived to document them.
A black baseball cap and a black jacket lay strewn on the street and near the curb.
A discarded umbrella lay on the sidewalk by the park.
Nearby, police guarded a black Nokia phone, which was also being held as evidence.
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