Shots damage cars in Stamford

STAMFORD — Police say at least three cars parked overnight on Connecticut Avenue were damaged by gunfire this weekend.

Capt. Richard Conklin said crime scene investigators collected 10 shell casings in front of the Rippowam Apartment complex after residents woke Sunday to find that bullets had been fired into their vehicles.

Conklin said police had not been told of the shots being fired before the residents began reporting the damage. During subsequent interviews, residents reported hearing shots in the area at 2:20 a.m., Conklin said.

Conklin said police do not know what motivated the gunplay.

Since April, there have been at least 10 shooting incidents in Stamford that have left six men grazed or injured, police said. Two of those incidents took place on Connecticut Avenue in April and May.

A number of the shooting incidents have origins in an ongoing feud between territorial groups, police have said, which police have describe as neighborhood factions rather than formalized gangs. The factions seem to be concentrated on Connecticut Avenue, Spruce Street and Ursula Place, police have said.

Investigators believe some of the incidents were sparked by insults relayed over social media and competition over drug sales, police have said.

Police have found matching shell casings at multiple scenes, indicating that some have fired weapons at more than one location.