Connecticut Senator Speaks Publicly After Home Hit by Gunfire

For the first time since gunfire hit the home of a state senator in New Haven, an emotional Gary Winfield publicly spoke out.

Winfield took part in a virtual legislative committee meeting on Thursday.

For Winfield, he thinks a lot of discussion at the State Capitol is focused on what happens after a crime is committed, whether it’s investigations or incarceration.

“If those bullets had slightly been in a different place, none of what we generally talk about would do anything, not just for me, but for the other people who experienced those crimes,” said Winfield.

He believes not enough is done to prevent crime from being committed in the first place.

“It is just as important that we think about keeping those young people from being on those streets doing things they are doing. And this legislature is not really good at that,” said Winfield.

New Haven detectives are hunting for whoever was responsible for shooting Winfield’s home on Winchester Avenue on Monday.

They believe the targets were two men walking near the senator’s home, one of whom was hit.

“Gun violence in New Haven has spiked during the pandemic. It’s been the highest now than it’s been in 20, 30 years,” said Jeremy Stein, CT Against Gun Violence executive director.

On Thursday, New Haven community members gathering for a listening session on gun violence. These perspectives will help guide the creation of a blueprint for how the newly created Office of Violence Prevention will run.

NBC Connecticut

“There is hope. There is healing. But as a community, we need to come together to do this,” said Lisa Hardy-Garner, Reliant Behavioral Health and Community Services.

The effort at violence prevention is really at the heart of this blueprint that is being worked on in New Haven, and the hope is to compile strategies and have it finalized by the end of June.