Teen charged in shooting that led to lockdown at Westover

STAMFORD — A city teenager was charged this week in connection to a shooting motivated by what police described as a "neighborhood beef" started in October 2020.

Capt. Richard Conklin said the 17-yearold man was arrested on charges of attempted first-degree assault, first-degree reckless endangerment, unlawful discharge of a firearm, risk of injury to a minor and carrying a pistol without a permit stemming from a shootout near 95 Myano Lane on Nov. 23, 2020.

The teen, whose name has not been released by police because of his status as a minor, was involved in what police described as a shootout where two men fired 16 bullets at each other around 2:15 p.m. that day, according to Conklin.

No one was injured in the shootout, Conklin said, but the activity led to a lockdown at the nearby Westover Elementary School. The lockdown marked the second time in less than a week where school needed to be secured because of gunshots in the area.

Conklin said the shooting was one of four such shootings in the neighborhood over three months. He said the shootings, which happened on Oct. 13, Nov. 19, Nov. 23 and Dec. 6, were the result of a “beef” between neighborhood factions in the area.

The 17-year-old is also facing similar charges for the Dec. 6 shooting, which left a 56-year-old Stamford Hospital worker who was driving home from work seriously injured.

Conklin said investigators were able to use a handgun recovered during the investigation to link the teenager to the shooting a couple weeks earlier.

The teenager is being held on $250,000 bond.

The 17-year-old is currently being charged as a juvenile, so his case will go before the Juvenile Justice System, though Conklin said Monday investigators are recommending that he be charged as an adult.