UPDATE: Teen Girl Shot By Accident At Danbury Fair Mall: Police

Danbury CT

11 August, 2021

7:55 PM

Description

DANBURY, CT — The 16-year-old girl who was shot at the Danbury Fair Mall on Wednesday evening was a bystander in the wrong place at the wrong time, according to Danbury Police Chief Patrick Ridenhour. "It appears she was innocent, it appears there was another target, and she got in the way," Ridenhour told reporters after the girl had been taken to Danbury Hospital. The police chief said that "a white male with a hammer," seen running near the scene of the incident, was the shooter's likely target. The Danbury Police Department first received a report of gunshots fired at the mall near Macy's shortly after 7 p.m. First responders found the teen suffering from a gunshot wound to her upper chest area. She was alert and conscious, according to the police report, but her condition at the hospital remains unknown. Her name is currently being withheld. Ridenhour said the shooting was an isolated incident between two groups of people who "were involved in some sort of altercation," just outside of Macy's. A member of one group, of at least eight people, fired a shot at a member of the other group, but hit the teen victim instead. Police say they immediately placed the mall under lockdown. Shortly after 9 p.m. police officers were still systematically clearing the building The shooter, whose identity is unknown, is still at large, Ridenhour said. The weapon has not been recovered. This is a breaking news story. Patch will publish updates as more information becomes available.