Police Pursuit Of Suspect Briefly Delays Southington School Dismissals: PD

SOUTHINGTON, CT — Schools were briefly on alert Wednesday afternoon in Southington as police pursued and apprehended a suspect wanted on multiple prior charges.

According to the Southington Police Department, the suspect has been identified as Angel Luis Rivera Jr., 39.

Police said at about 1:30 p.m., the SPD learned that Rivera was in the area of Darling Street in Southington.

"At the time, a protective order prohibited Rivera from being in this location. In addition, he had two active arrest warrants related to a failure to appear in court and violations of conditions of release connected to a separate family violence arrest earlier this month," police said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.

According to police, Rivera had also removed his court-ordered GPS ankle monitoring device following his release after the initial arrest, and he was believed to possibly be armed.

"Because this incident occurred during school dismissal hours, the Southington Police Department coordinated with the Southington Board of Education to temporarily delay the release of students in the immediate area as a precaution," said police.

Shortly after officers made contact at the apartment where Rivera was, he fled the building, police said.

The suspect, however, was quickly apprehended with the assistance of the SPD's police K-9 Kay.

No injuries were reported during the incident.

Once Rivera was in custody and the area was secure, nearby schools resumed normal dismissal procedures, police said.

The SPD said further information would be released regarding Rivera's charges.