Body found after nine officers injured in Connecticut barn explosion
Body found after nine officers injured in Connecticut barn explosion
A set of charred remains were found on the Connecticut property where a building exploded Wednesday night as officers attempted to negotiate with a man who'd been holding his wife hostage.
Nine officers were also taken to Yale New Haven Hospital with minor injuries including cuts, abrasions and bruises after the blast. They'd been trying to coax the suspect out of his home in North Haven, Conn., during an hours-long standoff when a barn on the property exploded around 8:30 p.m. and sparked a massive fire.
Authorities believe only one person was inside the structure at the time of the explosion but decline to identify the body found Thursday morning until an autopsy was completed.
A fire blazes behind a house after a barn exploded during a hostage standoff in North Haven, Conn., on Wednesday night. (WFSB-TV via AP)
North Haven police spent hours trying to negotiate with the suspect, who barricaded himself inside the home on Wednesday. (Catherine Avalone/AP)
flames Thursday morning. The blaze was mostly contained by 10 a.m., with only a
few several smaller structures toward the back of the property still on fire.
Connecticut State Police Fire and Explosion investigation unit is on scene working to determine the cause of the blast.
It remains unclear whether the suspect is alive or in custody. The wife, who was not in the home at the time of the explosion, is now safe, Freda said.
Residents near the home said they felt their own homes shake around 8:30 p.m.
few several smaller structures toward the back of the property still on fire.
Connecticut State Police Fire and Explosion investigation unit is on scene working to determine the cause of the blast.
It remains unclear whether the suspect is alive or in custody. The wife, who was not in the home at the time of the explosion, is now safe, Freda said.
Residents near the home said they felt their own homes shake around 8:30 p.m.
Multiple officers injured. I saw about four police officers being put into ambulances with possible injuries. Now being told to take shelter. Fire is still burning. #NorthHaven
Cathie Delfino Proto wrote on Facebook, "I thought my house was going to fall apart...windows shook...pups scared to death and now two more explosions!"
Joan Mazurek, 76, a retired accountant who lives about a mile away from the scene, thought a train was at her home.
"Then we heard all the, oh my God, all the ambulances and fire engines. The noise from all the emergency vehicles was unbelievable," she said. "It's a shock. Nothing ever happens like this in North Haven."
The fire eventually spread from the barn to the house as firefighters continued battling the blaze early Thursday. (Catherine Avalone/AP)
Power was out in the area, and homes along the street were evacuated as residents took refuge at the local firehouse.
Freda suggested the barn was rigged and said, "Based on the way the explosions took place, from what police told me, there was a series of explosions, which may indicate some sort of rigged booby traps," according to the Hartford Courant.
State police said they were assisting North Haven police with the investigation.
With News Wire Services
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