This story by Clare Shanahan was first published by the Valley News on Aug. 21.
HARTFORD — One man is dead and a second victim is receiving medical treatment after a shooting in Hartford early Thursday morning.
Authorities have said there is no ongoing threat to the public, but they have declined to release further details citing the ongoing investigation.
The names of the victims are being withheld pending notification of relatives, Vermont State Police said in a press release issued Thursday morning.
The investigation began at about 3:50 a.m. when a 911 caller reported a disturbance at a home on Verna Court off VA Cutoff Road, according to the release. Hartford Police arrived and found one victim deceased. The victim’s body was still at the scene midday Thursday.
The second victim was hospitalized for treatment and is expected to survive, according to the release.
Police said they have made no arrests nor have they publicly identified a suspect.
An autopsy for the deceased victim was scheduled for Thursday, according to the release.
VA Cutoff was closed from Mill Road to Route 4 on Thursday. Police also blocked off Verna Court, a short residential street off VA Cutoff Road just south of the White River.
Verna Court includes only two residential parcels, according to online property records, and was cordoned off by police tape.
On Thursday morning, two police officers at a time were stationed at the intersection with VA Cutoff Road while other officers occasionally stopped by the scene.
At about 9:50 a.m., a woman in a red vehicle drove past the police barricade at the intersection of Mill Road and VA Cutoff Road. She was stopped by Hartford Police and was told to turn around because it was a crime scene.
She said loudly, “That’s my husband. That’s my husband … Is he alive?” The woman said she had been working the graveyard shift and had been contacted by police. A Vermont State Police detective spoke with the woman, and she turned around and left.
In addition to Hartford Police, several divisions of the Vermont State Police are assisting in the ongoing investigation.
A law enforcement officer was canvassing the neighborhood Thursday morning.
A neighbor, Christopher Delong, who lives in an apartment building up VA Cutoff Road from the scene of the shooting, told the Valley News that he heard arguing around 3:30 Thursday morning after he returned home from work.
Delong said he then “dozed off a bit” and was awoken by gunshots. He tried to go back to sleep but was unable to and then he heard emergency vehicles making their way down the road.
“I’m shocked. It’s crazy to think something like that would happen,” said Delong, who has lived in the neighborhood for about two years.
He did note that there have been some vehicles vandalized on the street, including his own.
He also said that one of the properties on Verna Court is the scene of frequent police activity.
Another neighbor, Karasa Dumaine, said her family had heard “some banging” early in the morning but didn’t notice much commotion because of the hour.
Dumaine said she does not know the residents on Verna Court and said “they just keep to themselves” and “were the type to work on their cars and mind their own business.”
On Thursday morning at least four vehicles in various states of repair could be seen parked along Verna Court.
Chris Druge, who works at R.H. Scales and Co. across the street from the scene, said there was frequent traffic at Verna Court.
“There’s a lot of people that come and go from there,” Druge said.
Earlier Thursday morning, the Hartford Police Department and the Vermont State Police announced on social media that they were investigating an “active incident” in the area of 200 VA Cutoff Road.
Police are asking the public to avoid the area and seek alternate routes. Thursday’s incident was the second fatal shooting in the Upper Valley this week. On Sunday, police discovered the body of 67-year-old William Colao at his home in Canaan. Nor arrests have been announced in that case nor have police identified a suspect.
