"I know they don't
leave their door open like that late at night," Christine Cusson.
Cusson watched as police
swarmed her neighbors' home early Tuesday morning. She lives on River Street in
Winooski with her young son. But a violent home invasion has her second
guessing their safety.
"It's pretty
hard," she said. "It's scary."
Police say at 1 a.m.
Tuesday the tenants in an apartment heard a banging at the door. The male
resident told police the woman standing outside was a stranger. She was looking
for another man who occasionally stayed with the Winooski couple. Police say
when the tenant tried to turn her away; two other men appeared in the doorway.
"One kind of pushed
the door open, punched the male resident in the face, knocking him back and then
tried to make their way in. And at that point the male resident who was armed
with a .38 revolver fired one shot at the intruder," Winooski Police Chief
Steve McQueen said.
Police say that was
Trinelle Cox, 25. He was with Angel Concepcion, 24. Both men are from New York
City.
Police say the tenant then
shot Concepcion as he tried to kick down the door.
"It sounded like
someone lit off those little firecrackers in a metal garbage can. And there was
like four to six of them. It was pow-pow, pow-pow," Cusson said.
Both men are in intensive
care but are expected to survive. Police say they'll likely face charges when
they're released from the hospital. Detectives executed a search warrant on the
property, treating a child's play yard as a crime scene. They're hoping
evidence here may help solve another crime.
"I do know that one
of the individuals that I've identified was also identified in the South
Burlington incident," McQueen said.
Last week, someone fired a
dozen shots at a car fleeing from an apartment complex in South Burlington.
Police say the shooting was drug-related. Now detectives in both cases are
hearing the same suspect street name pop up, leading them to look at the
possibility that Concepcion was at the South Burlington shooting. It's not clear
if he could have been the shooter or one of the three people in the car.
Police are still looking
for the female accomplice who knocked on the door. She's described as a black
woman in her 20s. Police say another black man may also be involved. If you have
any information call Winooski police at 802-655-0221.
Police are not releasing
the name of the resident who shot at the alleged intruders. They say until they
have these drug connections figured out, they're withholding it for his own
safety. He has not been arrested or charged with any crime. Ultimately it will
be up the state's attorney to decide if the shooting was justified.
