Cops: Same Gun Used in Conn. Shootings

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – A series of seemingly random shootings over two days turned out to have a single, disturbing connection: All five victims were shot with the same gun.

Two victims were shot early Sunday on the north side of the city; three others were shot Monday morning within 15 minutes and several blocks of each other. The victims of Monday's shootings remained hospitalized Tuesday.

Regina Brown, who lives on the south side of the city where the Monday shootings took place, says she is afraid to leave the house.

"I stay behind this door," Brown said, smoking a cigarette through her screen and watching the street. "I don't want to know what's going on around here."

Witnesses and victims reported the shots came from the passenger side of moving cars, and police believe two people were working together.

"I think we're dealing with some local idiots who went out -- probably induced by drugs or some other impairment -- went out and did something awful foolish," said New Haven (search) Police Chief Francisco Ortiz. FBI (search) agents and state police were brought in to help.

Ortiz said the gun was of an unusual caliber, and that a check of Connecticut (search) gun shops turned up no leads. He declined to offer other details on the weapon.

Acting on a tip, police Tuesday searched a pond about two miles from the Monday shootings and found a submerged car. It was unclear whether the vehicle, which had been in the pond only a day or two, was linked to the shootings.

The two men shot on Sunday -- 18-year-old Gregory Jones and 20-year-old Chris Lowery -- were standing in front of a house talking with friends. They were treated at a hospital and later released.

All three victims Monday were on their way to work when they were shot, just a few blocks from each other. Police believe the men survived in part because they saw the car with the shooters coming and tried to run.

Those men -- Jose Rivera, 24; Robert Blake, 41; and Angel Colon, 54 -- remained hospitalized Tuesday.

Police had no description of a suspect. Witnesses reported seeing three different kinds of cars: a red or burgundy sedan that was spotted at the first two shootings, a powder-blue car, and a brown or tan SUV.