Suspect in carjacking and pursuit fatally shot by state troopers

A carjacking in Norwalk led to a pursuit with local and state police that ended in a deadly officer-involved shooting in West Haven, officials said Wednesday.

Trooper First Class Christine Jeltema, a spokeswoman for Connecticut State Police, confirmed Wednesday night that the suspect shot during the officer-involved shooting in West Haven was fatally wounded.

What led to the pursuit and deadly shooting began earlier in the afternoon when Norwalk police officers responded to the AT&T store on Route 7 for a report of a disturbance and information about a suspect armed with a knife around 4:30 p.m.

While en route, a vehicle was reported stolen by the suspect in the disturbance. The responding officers

Trooper Josue Dorelus, a spokesman for state police, said the driver instead engaged police in a pursuit that went into West Haven.

saw the vehicle and tried to get the driver to pull over.

Police said the driver did not stop, prompting a brief pursuit.

Norwalk police supervisors called off the pursuit and advised the dispatch center to notify surrounding police departments and Connecticut State Police of the vehicle’s description and what happened.

Police in Norwalk are still investigating the carjacking.

But as news reached troopers out of the Bridgeport barracks at Troop G, officers spotted the suspect vehicle and tried — as Norwalk police had — to get the driver to pull over.

Trooper Josue Dorelus, a spokesman for state police, said the driver instead engaged police in a pursuit that went into West Haven. Dorelus did not clarify what town or city the pursuit began in.

“There have been reports of an officer-involved shooting which occurred in the town of West Haven stemming from this aforementioned incident,” Dorelus said in a statement Wednesday night.

Dorelus did not say what specifically prompted the gunfire. He did not say how many troopers were involved in the pursuit or how many might have fired their weapons.

It was unclear if the suspect had a gun or if the suspect tried to use a weapon on any police officers.

Brian Foley, a spokesman for the state police Commissioner James Rovella, said no troopers were injured in the shooting. He said “multiple troopers” were taken to local hospitals per protocol.

Dorelus stressed that the information was preliminary and that more information would be shared as it became available.

The shooting prompted emergency personnel to shut down the Exit 43 off ramp of Interstate 95 north in West Haven. The closure was announced in a traffic alert by the state Department of Transportation around 5:20 p.m.

The alert indicated the closure was because of “police activity.” Drivers in the area were advised to seek another exit.