Teen Charged in Shooting Near Stamford Mall

Stamford Police Capt. Richard Conklin announced Tuesday morning the arrest of a 17-year-old male in connection to Monday's shooting near Veterans Park and the Stamford Town Center.

The teen, a Norwalk resident, was tracked down and finally picked up Tuesday at about 2 a.m., at which point he was charged with first-degree assault, first-degree reckless endangerment and possession of a pistol without a permit.

According to Conklin, the victim and a second, unknown party wre walking along Altantic Street next to Veterans Park and arguing over the victim's role in a phone that had gone missing or had been stolen.

"They were having an argument through downtown when they decided they'd had enough of each other," Conklin said, where he described the two parties walking about 20 feet down Town Center Drive to have a physical altercation.

Conklin said suddenly, a third party showed up and got involved in the argument himself, ulitmately shooting the victim in the leg "through and through." The bullet was found stuck to the pant leg of the victim after passing through his leg.

The victim chased the suspect and party with whom he was originally arguing as they ran down Town Center Drive to Edith Sherman Avenue Eventually giving up at the corner, unable to pursue the parties further due to his injuries.

The victim was taken to Stamford Hospital, where he was treated and released for non-life threatening injuries. Several witnesses came forward to help police develop leads, Conklin said.

"I'm very happy about witnesses from the community coming forward. It was very refreshing and they provided some very valuable information," Conklin said, adding because of those people, "Squad was able to develop a suspect early on and track him to Norwalk."

Conklin added the suspect, who was recently living in Stamford and had moved to Norwalk where he lives with his mother, was not found with a weapon, and the gun used in the incident has yet to be located. Conklin added the department is still tracking down the person with whom the victim was arguing and working on why or how the suspect is connected to the incident or why he became involved at all.