Man charged in connection to city ballpark shooting

BRIDGEPORT — A local man, free on bond on assault charges, was charged Friday with the shooting at a Little League ballpark earlier this year.

Dozens of children ran screaming in terror as shots rang out in Newfield Park on May 17, drawing a rebuke of gun violence in the city by Gov. Ned Lamont and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.

On Friday police arrested 34-year-old Julian Geter, of Wilmot Avenue, and charged him with criminal possession of a firearm, first-degree reckless endangerment, risk of injury to a child, unlawful discharge of a firearm and second-degree breach of peace.

“He is a danger to the community,” Superior Court Judge Tracy Lee Dayton said during Geter’s arraignment, noting that Geter was wearing a GPS anklet at the time of his arrest.

She ordered him held in lieu of $500,000 bond and continued the case to Dec. 17.

According to the arrest warrant affidavit, children were in the middle of a Little League baseball game at 2 p.m. when the shooting started. Children and parents scattered in all directions.

“They’re shooting in the park…you guys need to get here fast. These kids! There are like a hundred kids in the park. I see the kids running. I heard all the shots,” a caller stated to police dispatch on that May afternoon.

“People are screaming. They are running. They are shooting. All kids in the park. Like come on!” said another caller.

Following the shots, witnesses saw a man wearing a hooded sweatshirt flee the scene, the affidavit states.

The affidavit states through video and witness statements, detectives identified Geter as the suspected shooter.

The document states that following his arrest, Geter initially claimed he had been in New Haven at the time but when confronted that his cell phone showed he had been in the area of the park, Geter admitted he had been firing.

He claimed he had shot at another person who had previously shot him, the affidavit states.

“I’m going to be honest with you man, I got shot in the leg (in the past) I don’t know who the person is … Am I going to get charged for this?” the affidavit states Geter told detectives.