Back from Trick-or-Treating, Mom Victim of Drive-By Shooting

A Hamden woman, just back from taking her children trick-or-treating, was the unintended victim of a drive-by shooting Wednesday night on Newhall Street, according to police.

At about 9 p.m. police got the report of shots fired in a parking lot at 651 Newhall St., police spokesman Capt. Ronald Smith said.

When officers arrived, they found the victim, a 30-year-old Hamden resident, in a nearby apartment, Smith said. She had been shot in the back, he said. After she was treated at the scene by Hamden Fire Rescue, she was taken to Yale-New Haven Hospital, he said.

The victim told police that she had just returned from taking her children out for Halloween and was standing outside her home talking on the telephone when a car entered the parking lot and a man began shooting at a group of men standing nearby, Smith said.

"The victim was not the intended target," Smith said. "Members of the group fled on foot after hearing approximately five gunshots."

Witnesses told police that the suspect was in a dark colored car, which then fled the scene. 

Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Michael DePalma at (203) 230-4040.