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Image credit: WFSB
Just before 2 PM, I heard from a Pi Cafe employee who received a phone call from their child who attends school in Middletown that there had been a shooting on Long Lane (the road, not the farm).
Alarmed that there had been no Public Safety or other alerts, I did a Google News search of “Long Lane shooting Middletown CT” which yielded the following news reports on the incident:
- Police Investigating Shooting in Middletown from NBC Connecticut
- Shooting leads to lockdown at Middletown schools from WFSB
- WFSB shared a Facebook live video of the scene
- WFSB shared a video interview with a Middletown Police Department representative with more information on the incident.
- Police Investigating After Man Shot In Middletown from Hartford Courant
- Middletown police searching for ‘armed and dangerous’ suspect in shooting from Middletown Press [Edit: Added 10/18/18, 4:57 PM]
- Shooting Suspect Sought In Middletown: UPDATE from Middletown Patch [Edit: Added 10/18/18, 4:57 PM]
After emailing Public Safety Director Scott Rohde at 2:11 PM, I received this update at 2:33 PM:
“Public Safety was in contact with MPD. It was determined there was no immediate risk to campus. The suspect is known to the police. No specific action was requested of Wesleyan by the police. The suspect was believed to have left the area going south, further distancing himself from campus. We choose to notify both child care centers on campus, and provided the information we had to the Physical Plant staff who work in the Long Lane area. I sent out a campus notice a few moments ago as an information item.”
At 2:48 PM, Rohde sent the following all campus email:
Dear Campus Community:
I am writing to provide some information regarding a incident that occurred near the Wesleyan campus earlier this afternoon.
Middletown Police responded to a report of a shooting in the area of Long Lane and Clarence Court several blocks south of Wadsworth Street. Public Safety was in contact with the Middletown police and it was determined there was no immediate threat to the campus community. Wesleyan was not asked to take any specific action. The individuals involved in this matter have been identified by the police.
Public Safety officers and dispatchers are continuously monitoring the situation. Should important information need to be shared it will be disseminated promptly.
If you have any questions or concerns you may contact Public Safety at 860-685-2345.
Thank you very much,
Scott W. Rohde
Director
Wesleyan Office of Public Safety
In response to my inquiry, the Middletown Police Department also shared this press release at 3:31 PM.
We will continue to update this post as more information becomes available.