9 shot, 1 killed at US housing complex; woman struck while taking shower

HARTFORD, Conn. – Nine people have been shot at a Connecticut housing complex, including one who was killed and another who was wounded while taking a shower when a bullet pierced the wall of her apartment.

Policy say at least two young men wearing hooded sweatshirts opened fire at about 1 a.m. on a group of people who were hanging out in the parking lot of the apartment complex in Bridgeport, 70 miles (110 kilometres) northeast of New York City.

Six men and three women between the ages of 27 and 59 were struck. A 37-year-old woman was fatally wounded. The woman who was shot in the back while in her bathroom was the only victim not in the parking lot, police said.

Resident Kenneth Jones told a local newspaper that the victims were attending a cookout at the compound. “Everyone who got shot … they was just hanging out, they was innocent,” Jones said.

Police were working on several leads Thursday but had not established a motive for the shooting.

Officials at a local hospital said one person was treated there and released and two others were in fair condition Thursday morning. The other victims were in serious but guarded condition at another hospital and several were undergoing surgery, police said.

The housing complex, located in the north end of Connecticut’s largest city, has been a frequent scene of violent crime. It is the city’s largest, with about 400 units, with single and multi-family homes as well as housing for the elderly.

Police have said much of the violence has stemmed from disputes between rival gangs and from heroin and cocaine dealers who operate from inside the housing complex.

Authorities have responded by increasing patrols in the area.