A hospital worker accused of shooting two supervisors after he was fired faced a judge on Monday and the case has been continued until June 5.
Victor Valcarcel Sr., 64, is being held on on $1.5 million bond and has pleaded not guilty.
Valcarcel, a building services aide at the Hospital for Special Care in New Britain, is accused of shooting Lynn Trask, 65, of Bristol, and Robert Barucci, 53, of Southington, in February after disciplinary action.
He entered the plea on Monday, March 12.
When his son, Victor Valcarcel Jr., spoke with reporters the day after the shooting, he said his father has physical and medical problems, has been taking care of an ailing wife and duties had been added on at work.
“He's taking care of my mom. He’s taking care of the house. He has no money. This could make anybody go to a breaking point,” Victor Valcarcel Jr. said.
Victor Valcarcel Sr. planned to retire next year and was afraid he was going to be laid off, his son said, adding that his father is a good guy who just cracked.
According to court documents, Valcarcel Sr. confessed that he shot at the supervisors after being fired.
"I was so mad at both of them that I wanted to kill them both," he said, according to police. "It happened so quick. I shot four times. I shot Bob two times and I shot Lynn two times. ... I think I cried out, 'Oh my God.'"
New Britain police received the first 911 call at 5:53 p.m. on that Wednesday evening about a shooting inside the hospital, Police Chief William Gagliardi said. On Thursday, seven calls were released.
The hospital released a statement the next morning, saying the shooting happened at 5:50 p.m. after an employee shot the two supervisors in an "isolated building maintenance area" away from patients.
"The shooter was not located within the building, but he was well known because he's a person who works at the hospital. Apparently, he had a dispute with a supervisor, pulled a gun and shot him," Gagliardi said.who recently moved from Wallingford to Southington, were in critical condition at St. Francis Hospital in Hartford on Thursday morning, New Britain police said.
Hospital officials said Valcarcel Sr. likely went home and returned with a gun.
Victor Valcarcel Jr. said his father called him and said he shot two people. He said he went to the father's house, where Victor Valcarel Sr. was pacing with a gun, and he turned his father in to police.
Valcarcel was taken into custody at his home on Helen Drive, around 7 p.m. on the night of the shooting.
Local
He was not armed when he was arrested, according to police, and Capt. James Wardwell described Valcarel as "calm" as he was taken into custody.
Trask and Barucci both suffered gunshot wounds to the upper body, according to police, and they are in critical condition.
Barucci worked as a printer for the Meriden Record-Journal for about 20 years, the Record-Journal reports, and started working for the hospital a few years ago when the printing operation moved to Springfield, Massachusetts.
Police said Barucci is Valcarcel's supervisor and had disciplined him earlier in the day.
Valcarcel has been charged with two counts of criminal attempt to commit murder and two counts of first-degree assault.
