Hill North Has A ​“Violent Month”

The northern half of the Hill has seen two people shot, two robberies, two aggravated assaults, and two additional incidents of gunfire in what the neighborhood’s top cop described as a ​“violent month.”

Sgt. Justin Marshall, the district commander for both the Hill North’s District 5 and the Hill South’s District 3 gave that neighborhood crime update Tuesday night at the regular monthly Hill North Community Management Team meeting in the auditorium of John C. Daniels Interdistrict Magnet School of International Communication on Congress Avenue. His report dovetailed with a citywide increase in shootings this year (as detailed in this story by the New Haven Register’s Ben Lambert).

“It was a violent month in Hill North,” he said before walking the two dozen meeting attendees through the lengthy list of crimes that had taken place in their community since the team last met in mid-September.

Marshall started with the burglaries. In two separate incidents, one on Arch Street and one on Vernon Street, two different women had been approached by strangers who asked to use their cellphones. When the woman in each case declined, the man subsequently assaulted her and stole the phone.

In the Arch Street case, he said, police were able to find, arrest, and charge a suspect on Howard Avenue thanks to a GPS-tracking app that the woman had enabled on her phone.

The police are still investigating the second case, he said, and have not yet apprehended any suspects.

“Just be aware of your surroundings when you’re outside,” he said. ​“Try not to have anything of value out when by yourself.”

There have two recent incidences of gunfire in the neighborhood, he said. One on Thorn Street, where police found five 9 milimeter shell casings after a Shotspotter activation. On Sept. 29, he said, police found a single shell casing on Sylvan Avenue. No

“Anyone who lives in that area” around Thorn Street, he said, ​“be aware of suspicious activity.” In addition to the five shell casings, he said, police also found a stolen car in a small apartment complex on that block last week.

“We had two aggravated assaults,” he said.

One was at a store on Stevens Street near Davenport Avenue. ​“A large fight took place there last week,” he said, ​“where a male was stabbed and suffered non-life threatening injuries.” The investigation is ongoing, he said, and police have developed a suspect.

The other occurred on York Street where a ​“protective service officer” was pepper sprayed by a ​“combative person” who was told to leave a private property. That pepper sprayer was arrested and charged appropriately, Marshall said.

“The two major incidents were we had two persons shot,” he continued.

One occurred at Congress Avenue and Redfield Street on Sept. 29. ​“That was a 16-year-old that was filming a video,” he said. He also suffered non-life threatening injuries.

“This is our third shooting in this area since May,” Marshall said, following one young man shot in the arm and a subsequent homicide. ​“It has become a popular area for people to hang out. The area is on our radar. Police are aware of it.” If residents see a large group of people drinking or smoking or hanging out in that area, he said, please call the police’s non-emergency number.

“Honestly,” he said, ​“it’s getting violent over there.”

The second shooting occurred on Oct. 2 at a store Howard Avenue and Washington Avenue. He said that two men went there with the plan to fight each other. ​“The fight escalated and one male was struck by gunfire and suffered non-life threatening injuries.” Police have developed a suspect, he said.

“In response to all these things, I’m working very closely with our intelligence unit and our narcotics unit,” he concluded. ​“In many of these cases, we have developed a suspect and are pending investigations.” He said an additional officer was assigned to Hill North last week.

“I encourage each and every one of you to call us if you see anything suspicious or anything that you feel is not safe because the police department is just one aspect of it. We can call. We can respond to things. But ultimately we need your help, because we can’t be everywhere.”