Gun Battle on Stamford's East Side Injures 2

The quiet of a Saturday night was pierced by the sounds of unrelenting gunfire on Stamford’s East Side during a weekend gun battle that left two people with non-lifethreatening injuries, according to Stamford Police.

“At 11:21 p.m. on May 16 police received numerous reports of shots fired at 1 Lawn Ave.,” said Capt. Richard Conklin. Police locked down the neighborhood but it was after the gunmen apparently took off.

“Police locked down the neighborhood but no victims were found. There were a number of structures — apartments and condos that were struck by bullets,” Conklin said. Police did recover eight spent shells fired from a .44-caliber Remington magnum handgun and four shells from a .380 semi-automatic handgun, according to Conklin.

“We were very, very lucky that with such heavy weaponry that no innocent bystanders were injured. The .44 Remington is known as a hand cannon,” Conklin added.

It appears that the gun battle was between a 23-year-old Stamford man who was driven to St. Vincent’s Hospital in Bridgeport where he was treated for gunshot wounds to the right hip and right shoulder, according to Conklin.

Police then found the second shooting victim at Stamford Hospital when a 24-year-old woman sought treatment for a gunshot wound to an arm early Sunday, Conklin said.

“It appears she and the other victim were shooting at one another. We are trying to determine the root cause for the gun battle,” Conklin said. Conklin declined to say whether police recovered either weapon. He did say that neither victim has a valid gun permit.

However, police did seize the 2013 Toyota Scion that they believe was used to drive the 23-year-old man from the shooting scene. “It was driven by the owner Brittany Manning 28, of 123 Montauk Dr., Stamford, and was recovered near her home, riddled with bullets and had quite a bit of blood inside,” Conklin said. Police are still trying to determine who drove the victim to Bridgeport.

Manning was ticketed for driving an uninsured motor vehicle and driving an unregistered motor vehicle, according to Conklin.

Conklin said the investigation is continuing and arrests are expected.

Patch file pho. Credit: Barbara Heins.