Shots Fired; Tri-Town Selectmen Take Action

ESSEX, CHESTER, DEEP RIVER, CT — Community safety and security is paramount in the eyes of the tri-town selectmen, which is why they are doing all they can to ensure the safety of area residents moving forward after a Chester resident was shot at, in his own yard, when he surprisingly came across two individuals in his driveway attempting to steal his car in the early morning hours of March 28.

"I am relieved that no one was injured and am hopeful that the current investigation of this matter results in the quick arrest of the individuals involved," said Chester First Selectwoman Lauren Gister. "Chester is making a concerted effort to ensure that police hours are varied and that there is awareness and focus on potential crime over routine traffic violations (although sometimes a routine speeding ticket is how an offender will be caught). We have had more common incidents involving car thefts and items going missing from unlocked autos over the past year or two, but this is an unfortunate escalation of potential violence and is a cause of great concern."

She added, "We will continue to advise residents to lock cars and residences and to remove valuables and other temptations from vehicles whenever possible."

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The problem of car thefts in the area, as well as items being stolen from unlocked cars in the middle of the night, has been ongoing for several years now, and not just in the tri-towns, but in neighboring shoreline towns as well. The incidence of the problem waxes and wanes, however, now that guns and shots fired have been added to the dangerous mix, residents are exceedingly concerned and frightened.

"The police in the area are working to protect the residence of our towns," said First Selectman of Essex Norm Needleman. "Essex has added additional [patrol] shifts in the middle of the night and we continue to encourage people to lock their cars, take their belongings [inside] and take their keys out of their cars. In addition, if you see something, please dial 9-1-1 and do not engage people that you think are trying to steal your car."

"We are doing everything we can to have police on duty as often as we can," said First Selectman of Deep River Angus McDonald. "We aslo need to make sure that there is public awareness about this problem and we all need to lock our cars and our houses."

He added, "Unfortunately there is a bigger problem here, there needs to be a change in legislation about how people committing these crimes are prosecuted and we need to address the poverty in the state. There are a lot of different factors contributing to these crimes and we need to look at how to remedy this as a state not just as a town."

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