A Waterbury family is on edge after more than 20 shots were fired into their home on Sunday, including their newborn’s nursery.
The Hernandez family moved to Waterbury from New York and have lived in their Wadsworth Street home for the last two years. They said they moved to Connecticut to give their children a better life.
Their sense of security was shattered when gunmen pulled up to their home in a black SUV and allegedly fired roughly two dozen rounds.
“I was feeding [my newborn] when all of a sudden I hear, like, fireworks. I’m thinking it’s normal, but when I look out the window, I see a group of kids, young men actually, firing at the house,” Bianca Hernandez said.
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A neighbor’s surveillance camera captured the terrifying moments. The SUV was seen driving by the home twice before the gunmen exited and fired the shots.
Hernandez said she even made eye contact with one while looking out of her window.
“He just kept shooting,” she said. “I just got up, took my kid and ran to get my other kid.”
Her baby’s nursery bore the brunt of the damage. The wall near her rocking chair has four bullet holes in it, and above the changing table is another bullet hole. The bullets even tore through clothes in the closet.
Her 11-year-old son’s room was hit, too, and he had walked out seconds before, she said. Her eldest son, 15, was doing yard work in the back with her husband.
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“It could've been my son being in the room sleeping, my infant, I could have been there changing his diaper in the diaper changer,” Hernandez said. “They could have hit me, could have hit the baby. My middle child was little, sitting in the room and I just had told him, ‘can you go get my charger in my room?’ and he just had gotten out of his room, so he just got saved by one minute.”
She said she doesn’t know why this happened, or what happens next.
“I’m terrified to be here. I don’t know if they’re going to come back. They’re having panic attacks, they can’t sleep,” she said.
The Hernandez family is now staying with loved ones in New York, while they figure out whether or not they can stay in their Waterbury home.
“My peace, this was my peace. When we got here, all of us, this was our peace where everybody felt safe like nothing could happen to us here, and they broke that that day," she said.
Waterbury police said they are investigating and urge anyone with information to call the WPD Detective Bureau at (203) 574-6941 or Crime Stoppers anonymous tip line at (203) 755-1234.
“We have no other reported similar incidents in that area and are actively investigating to develop more information regarding this particular incident, individuals involved and possible suspects,” Lt. Ryan Bessette said.
