By: Kyle Levasseur
An explosion occurred on Quinnipiac Avenue in North Haven, Wednesday night after authorities arrived on scene for a reported domestic violence incident. The man who set off the explosion was holding his wife hostage in the garage for four days. She escaped after the explosion.
Four or five officers were injured, according to the North Haven Police Department. As of 10:23 p.m. Yale New Haven Hospital received seven total patients, according to it’s twitter account.
Members of the South Central Regional SWAT team, various local police departments and North Haven Fire Department arrived on the scene for the investigation.
First selectman, Mike Freda, was on the scene and told News 12 Connecticut, “(This is) probably the most chaotic scene North Haven has seen.”
Neighbors said they saw fire and smoke after feeling the ground shake.
Authorities used a loudspeaker to ask a man named John to come out of his house and told him he could receive help, before the explosion occurred. Citizens were kept away from the scene, and neighbors close by were not allowed in or out of their houses.
The explosion was 6.7 miles away from Quinnipiac University’s Mt. Carmel campus and 4.2 miles away from Quinnipiac’s North Haven campus. Quinnipiac students received a text message from the school at 8:51 p.m. reading, “Good Evening! Area residents are being asked to avoid the area of Quinnipiac Avenue in North Haven, near Orient Lane, because of heavy police activity.” Quinnipiac public safety has not commented since the message was sent.
Follow Q30 News for updates on the ongoing investigation.
