NHFD
One of the burned-out cars.
(Updated) Someone lit four cars on fire in Fair Haven, on a night when a stolen car also ended up in the Edgewood Duck Pond.
Paul Bass Photo
Skids marks left behind from the stolen-car incident.
The duck pond incident occurred first.
The incident began in Hamden, on Mill Rock Road. Police went there around 10 p.m. to speak with a man who “was walking to his vehicle in a driveway, when he was approached by an individual with a handgun. The suspect took the SUV at gunpoint and pushed the victim to the ground,” reported department spokesperson Sean Dolan.
Then emergency responders received a call Sunday at 10:17 p.m. about a car having been driven into the pond in New Haven’s Edgewood Park.
Members of Engine 9 at the Ellsworth Avenue fire station responded to the scene.
Firefighters “donned cold water suits and verified that the vehicle was in shallow water,” Assistant Fire Chief Justin McCarthy told the Independent. They also verified that no one was inside the car.
Then they used thermal imaging to make sure there was no victim nearby, that no one had tried to get out of the car and been injured, according to McCarthy.
The police department took it from there, and a tow company was called to haul the vehicle out of the water. The vehicle was reported stolen from Hamden in a carjacking. Police believe the thief may have left it in the pond to destroy evidence.
NHFD
Burnt-out vehicles in the Downing Street driveway.
Firefighters received another call at 1:26 a.m. about three cars being on fire in Fair Haven.
Members of Engine 10 and Truck 3 from the Lombard Street fire station arrived to find four vehicles on fire, “primarily in the engine compartments,” McCarthy stated. They used two hose lines to put out the fires. Then they searched the area for possible victims. Finding none, they “protected the scene from any contamination” and turned the matter over to the fire investigation unit, which began looking into the incident along with the police department’s detective bureau and a team from the state police.
A subsequent police report stated that the four vehicles were parked in a driveway at 80 Downing St.
“Officers were able to obtain video footage of a subject pouring what appears to be gasoline on the vehicles and then fleeing on foot toward Chatham Street,” the report read. “From the video it appears the subject may have set himself on fire as well. No property damage other than the cars and no injuries” took place.
The alleged arsonist remained at large Monday evening as the investigation continued.
Is this gang/turf related retaliation, maybe?