Willimantic police have arrested a man after shots were fired in the parking lot of a busy bar early Sunday morning.
Montreece Prather, 26, of Willimantic, is facing multiple charges including reckless endangerment and criminal possession of a firearm.
According to Willimantic Corporal Stan Parizo, police were called to Tony's Pizza and Pub at 117 Main Street at 2 a.m. as the bar was closing.
People also called 911 to report hearing gunfire in the pub's parking lot and on Brook Street as police were on their way to investigate shots fired near the bar. No one was struck by the bullets and no one was hurt in the shooting.
Police found Prather walking down a side street with a gun. He ran from police when they confronted him. As police pursued the man, he tossed a gun into a wooded area. Once they caught up with him off of Chapman Street in the woods, they said Prather resisted arrest. Police took him into custody after a brief struggle and held him in custody at the Willimantic Police Department on a $250,000 cash/surety bond.
Police say that the gun matches shell casings and other evidence found in the pub parking lot.
Considering the bar was packed, police say the incident could have ended much worse.
Local
"This is the best case scenario. Nobody's hit, we recovered the firearm, we got the bad guy off the street within minutes," Parizo said.
Prather was charged with second-degree breach of peace, first-degree reckless endangerment, criminal possession of a firearm, possession of a pistol without a permit, interfering with police and unlawful discharge of a firearm. Willimantic police have had run-ins with him before.
Prather is scheduled to be arraigned in Danielson Superior Court on Monda, July 6.
Willimantic Police Department's criminal investigation divion responded to process the scene and a K-9 unit searched for evidence.
Police ask anyone who may have witnessed the shooting to contact the department. All tips will remain confidential.
