Willimantic police have arrested a homeless man on weapons charges after searching for a missing girl who was looking for her sister at a homeless camp and officers are also investigating reports of a sexual assault.
Willimantic police said they were alerted around 11 p.m. Thursday that a girl who had been reported missing earlier in the evening could be found in a wooded area by the Willimantic River, possibly near several tents homeless people had set up.
When officers found the girl, she said she was looking for her sister. They then found the girl’s sister.
She reported to police that a person who had a knife or a gun sexually assaulted her in a tent, police said.
Another resident of the camp then approached police and reported that someone was shooting a gun in the air, police said.
The suspected perpetrator then called 911 and said he was being shot at, which police said have been to lure officers into the woods.
Dispatch operators kept the caller on the phone and told him to stay in the area and officers found him on a narrow bridge. He had a knife and a black handgun was tucked into his waistband, according to police.
After a brief encounter, the man dropped both weapons and the gun turned out to be a BB gun.
Police have identified the man as 28-year-old Scott Kingsbury and they have charged him with two counts of carrying a dangerous weapon.
Police continue to investigate and said more charges are expected.
