Bridgeport Man Arrested On Attempted Murder Charge: Police

BRIDGEPORT, CT — A 42-year-old Bridgeport man is in custody after police said he tried to kill a 39-year-old woman in a shooting on Arctic Street in Bridgeport Wednesday afternoon.

The victim was able to contact police to report the shooting, and gave officers a detailed description of the suspect; she is being treated in Bridgeport Hospital for a gunshot wound that is not considered to be a treat to life.

Bridgeport police arrested the suspect, Jerome Smith, in front of his East Washington Avenue home at about 3:45 p.m., roughly half an hour after the shooting.

In addition to attempted murder, Smith was also charged with first-degree assault and numerous drug and firearms charges, because he is a convicted felon, Bridgeport police said.

Members of the Bridgeport Police Patrol Division and the Detective Bureau were able to recover evidence at the scene of the shooting, and Smith had a semi-automatic handgun, as well as narcotics, in his possession at the time of his arrest.

"In an interview with detectives at the hospital, the victim reported having several altercations with Smith in the days prior to the shooting," wrote Tiadora Josef, the city's director of Public Information, in a statement. Smith is a convicted felon with a history of multiple gun arrests and narcotics arrests in Bridgeport dating back to 2014."

Smith is being held in lieu of bail of $500,000, and is scheduled to be arraigned in Bridgeport Superior Court on Thursday.