Crime & Safety

Gunshot by Lenox Road Likely Was Suicide Attempt, Police Say

The following information was provided by the Avon Police Department, and the investigation is ongoing.

A suicide attempt may have triggered the single shot fired near Lenox Road in Avon on July 28, police said.

After a male juvenile initially told police two individuals shot at him with a handgun late that evening, missing and hitting his bicycle helmet, police announced late afternoon on July 29 that the shot was "self-inflicted."

The two reported attackers did not exist, Avon Police Chief Mark Rinaldo said Tuesday, and police have found no evidence that anyone else was with the juvenile during the incident.

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When asked whether the juvenile fired the shot into the helmet when he wasn't wearing it or shot at himself while it was on his head, Rinaldo clarified that so far the investigation indicates that incident was most likely an "attempted suicide" and that the shot instead hit the boy's helmet.

The juvenile was sent to the hospital as a result, Rinaldo said. The juvenile had no physical injuries as a result of the incident, police reported.

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Lt. Kelly Walsh, spokesperson for the , said Aug. 1 that police recovered the handgun that was the source of the shot and that there "was also evidence constant with a bullet" on the helmet.

Neighbors reported hearing a single shot just before 10 p.m. on July 28 that sounded like it was fired near the intersection of Lenox Road and Lexington Drive.The neighborhood is within a mile of and Lenox Road is off of Hollister Drive.

Neighbors also identified the juvenile as an Avon High School student.

The investigtion is ongoing, but Rinaldo said that police are not considering the incident a criminal act at this time and that no arrests have been made.

Avon police ask anyone with additional information to contact the department at 860-409-4200, or 860-409-4232 to report anonymous confidential information.


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