Police Identify Suspect Killed In Officer-Involved Shooting

WEST HAVEN, CT — A 19-year-old New Haven man has been identified as the suspect who was fatally shot by a Connecticut State Trooper following a Norwalk-to-West Haven chase in a carjacking incident Wednesday afternoon.

Mubarak Soulemane, who was armed with a knife, was shot by Trooper Brian North on Campbell Avenue in West Haven, according to officials. Soulemane was treated at the scene and taken to Yale-New Haven Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

North, who has been with state police for more than four years, was placed on administrative assignment, per department policy, officials said.

See also: Graphic Police Video Shows State Trooper Firing Fatal Gunshots

The incident began unfolding around 4:35 p.m. on Jan. 15, when Norwalk police responded to a reported armed carjacking in their city. Norwalk officers found and attempted to stop the vehicle but the driver engaged police in a pursuit on Route 7.

Norwalk police terminated the pursuit and broadcast a Be On The Lookout, noting that the driver was armed with a knife. Officials said that information was necessary because the State Police Policy adopted in September 2019 “prevents troopers from normally pursuing stolen vehicles unless the person pursued in the vehicle has committed, is attempting to commit or will imminently commit a crime of violence (actual or threatened), or there are articulable exigent circumstances that warrant the need to apprehend the suspect in a timely manner because of the potential for harm to the public if apprehension does not occur.”

State police troopers in Bridgeport received reports that a white Hyundai was traveling north on I-95 in a “reckless manner,” driving both along the right shoulder and center median at a high rate of speed, according to officials. The car was seen on state Department of Transportation cameras at 4:46 p.m. speeding in the median near Exit 22 on I-95 North. Police dispatch monitored the car via the DOT cameras until state troopers were able to get behind it in the area of Exit 36.

Troopers attempted to stop the car, but the driver struck two state police cruisers and continued on the highway before getting off Exit 43 onto Campbell Avenue in West Haven, officials said.

On Campbell Avenue, the Hyundai struck a vehicle and was boxed in by state police. State troopers and West Haven police attempted to get the driver out of the car and initially deployed a Taser, which was ineffective, according to officials.

When the driver displayed a weapon, which was later determined to be a knife, North fired his gun and struck Soulemane, who later died from his injuries, police said. No other injuries were reported.

The other state troopers involved in the incident were Trooper Joshua Jackson, who has been with state police for more than four years, and Trooper First Class Ross Dalling, who has been on the force for more than seven years. North was the only trooper to fire his weapon.

The troopers involved with the incident had vehicles that were equipped with in-car cameras and they were also wearing body cameras. Authorities say they will work to release the video footage and dispatcher audio in the coming days.

The Connecticut State Police Central District Major Crime Squad and New London State’s Attorney’s Office are handling the investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call state police at 860-706-5656.