A 74-year-old Plantsville man is accused of firing gunshots at several locations in Southington, including homes, a church and a healthcare facility, on Sunday, according to Southington police. They have identified seven locations that were targeted.
Police said they are investigating seven incidents, as well as potential connections with incidents in Bristol and Cromwell, where a church was damaged by gunshots while people were inside Sunday, and the suspect has connections with the locations, so they did not appear to be random.
Police said they responded to a home on Meriden-Waterbury Road at 6:43 p.m. after someone in the residence reported 16 gunshots were fired at the home.
Around half an hour later, a resident of North Star Drive called police to report four or five gunshots.
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A few minutes later, at 7:39 p.m., the alarm at Hartford HealthCare Group at 70 Meriden Ave. reported that glass had been broken.
Just before that, Bristol police had notified Southington police about an incident in their town and they provided a photograph of a suspect.
Police said a church member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at 750 Meriden-Waterbury Turnpike called them just before 9 p.m. to report an incident believed to have happened earlier.
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As officers arrived to investigate the alarm at Hartford HealthCare Group, they saw a black Chevrolet Silverado parked behind the office and a man matching the description of a suspect reported in a shooting incident earlier in Bristol, police said.
Hartford HealthCare Group said their office was closed at the time of the incident. They said their offices will remain closed Tuesday as repairs are made and patients with appointments are being contacted to reschedule.
Police said he was outside the vehicle, holding a long rifle. As officers attempted to establish a perimeter around the building, they heard gunshots from behind the building, where the man was, then saw him drive the black Silverado around the building and onto Meriden Avenue, police said.
Officers began to pursue him, heading south onto Old Turnpike Road and onto Interstate 691, police said.
Douglas Floyd Gollnick, 74, of Plantsville, was taken into custody, police said, and officers seized a .22-calibre long rifle from Gollnick’s front passenger’s seat. Police said he has connections with locations where shots were fired.
Police said Gollnick was positively identified as a suspect from Meriden Avenue and he is suspected in three incidents of gunshots being fired in Southington, “along with possible links to shooting in area towns.”
The homes on Meriden-Waterbury Turnpike and North Star Drive were occupied at the time shots were fired and no injuries have been reported.
Police said two Southington police vehicles were damaged during the pursuit and no officers were injured.
Southington police and Connecticut State Police Major Crimes are investigating.
A news release says Gollnick was not injured, but he remains hospitalized since his arrest.
When he is released, he will be charged with criminal attempt/assault in the first degree, unlawful discharge, reckless endangerment, criminal use of a firearm and criminal mischief in the first degree in connection with the incident on North Star Drive and bond will be set at $250,000.
He will be charged with unlawful discharge, reckless endangerment, criminal use of a firearm, criminal mischief in the first degree, interfering with an officer and engaging in a pursuit in connection with the incident on Meriden Avenue and bond will be set at $250,000, police said.
The incidents on the Meriden-Waterbury Turnpike are being investigated, police said.
During a news conference Monday, police said they have since learned of an incident on School Street. A resident heard loud noises around 6:30 p.m. Sunday and discovered 12 to 15 gunshots were fired into his home. People were home and no one was injured, police said.
Police said there was another on Flanders Road, where 16 gunshots were fired into a garage door.
On Tuesday morning, police identified another location on Meriden Waterbury Turnpike.
Police said Southington Police received a call Monday of another shooting location, at 828 Meriden Waterbury Turnpike, Polumbo’s Service Center, and officers found 12 bullet holes from shots fired into the business' overhead doors. Police are trying to determine what time the shots were fired.
People were in the building when the shots were fired, but not in the area where the shots were fire, and no one was injured. Police said it appears that this was connected to gunshots fired in Southington and police are investigating.
Bristol police are investigating an incident around 6:15 p.m. on Sunday at Crowley RV on 9 Barber Street. No injuries were reported.
Police said they are investigating.
