The gunman suspected of wounding five people at a Connecticut mall is a teenager who was out on bond on separate charges, officials said Wednesday.
Tajuan Washington, 19, opened fire after confronting another man he “had a history” of “beef” with at the Brass Mill Center in Waterbury Tuesday afternoon, striking the man and four women he was with, Mayor Paul K. Pernerewski, Jr., said during a news conference.
The mayor and police officials said that the shooting, which happened near the shopping center’s main entrance just before 5 p.m., was not a random act of violence.
“This was a one-off incident,” the mayor said, adding that the mall was safe for shopping.
Washington was out on a $25,000 bond for reckless driving and other charges, according to Waterbury Police Chief Fred Spagnolo.
He was arrested in October for driving 105 miles per hour on Interstate 84 East — and turning his lights off to evade state police, cops said.
Washington on Wednesday was charged with five counts of first-degree assault and other weapons charges, the chief said.
The Waterbury native is being held on a $2 million bond and is expected to appear in court Wednesday.
Three of the five victims had been discharged from the hospital by Wednesday morning and the other two victims were stable, including one woman who was shot in her spine, the mayor said.
All of the victims were between 18 and mid-20s, cops said.
Authorities were still investigating the root of the dispute between Washington and the male victim.
Police arrived at the “chaotic” scene just minutes after gunfire erupted around 4:45 p.m., sending terrified shoppers running for their lives, Spagnolo said.
Cops “weren’t quite sure if there was an active shooter still on scene. They did a tremendous amount of work in a short period of time,” he said.
The mayor said mall employees jumped into action and “guided people out and helped keep things calm.”
“People were hidden and were protected. So I want to thank them for what they did. This is not part of what they normally do.”
Connecticut State Police also rushed to assist at the scene.
Investigators found rifles when they executed a search warrant at Washington’s home, but are still looking for the gun used in the shooting, Spagnolo said.
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont joined law enforcement at Wednesday’s press conference and urged residents to “not let these guys scare you.”
“This started out with some sort of a beat, some sort of an argument. And rather than ending up with fisticuffs, somebody pulls out a semi-automatic, shoots seven rounds, and badly wounds five people,” Lamont said.
