Police identify victim in fatal New London shooting
New London — Police have identified the victim in a fatal overnight shooting as 25-year-old Abdiel Rodriguez of New London.
Rodriguez was killed late Tuesday in a shooting that occurred in the area of Colman and West Pleasant streets, police said.
The shooting was reported through 911 calls at 10:35 p.m. and police, in a statement, said officers arrived at the scene to find the victim suffering from life-threatening injuries. The man was taken to Lawrence + Memorial Hospital for treatment but later was pronounced dead.
The incident does not appear to be a random act but police said the investigation remains active. A vehicle suspected to be involved in the incident was seized by police and towed from the scene of the crime.
About an hour after police started investigating the shooting death, at 11:42 p.m., officers responded to the area of Cliff and Wightman streets for reports of gunshots. New London Police Captain Matthew Galante said it is too early in the investigation to speculate on whether the two incidents are connected. Police said they found multiple shell casings and bullet holes in a vehicle. No injuries were reported in that incident.
On Wednesday, there was little evidence of a shooting in the densely populated neighborhoods off Colman Street. Blockades that had been set up at the ends of Lincoln Avenue and Fuller Street had been moved to the sides of the roads. There was a balled up pile of yellow crime scene ribbon in a trash receptacle off Colman Street.
An employee at a gas station at the corner of Colman Street and Walden Avenue said area roads were still closed to traffic when he arrived at work at 5 a.m. but opened about an hour later.
Shortly before 11 p.m. on Tuesday, some residents received a phone alert warning them to avoid the area of Colman Street, between Walden Avenue and Ashcraft Road.
Anyone with information on Tuesday’s shooting is encouraged to contact police detectives at (860) 447-1481 or provide anonymous information by texting NLPDTip plus the information to Tip411.
Tuesday’s shooting came just days after a 19-year-old man walked into Lawrence + Memorial Hospital with a non-life threatening gunshot wound to one of his lower extremities. That happened on Thursday. The victim, whose last known address is in North Carolina, was treated and released. The location of the shooting is part of the ongoing investigation.
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