Shooting suspect shoots self as police close in

0
66

Editor’s note: This story has been updated from the original post to reflect that James Michael Batista died Friday.

NAUGATUCK — A man who police believe shot his estranged wife in Naugatuck on Thursday afternoon, was later found in New Haven where he shot himself in the head as officers closed in, police said.

James Michael Batista, 29, shot the woman in the back at the house they shared on Washington Street after a domestic dispute Thursday afternoon, police said.

Naugatuck police responded to the house at 3:29 p.m. EMTs immediately took the woman, whose name they did not release, to a hospital for treatment of injuries that were not life-threatening, police said. She was treated and released from the hospital, police said.

Police put out an all-points bulletin for Batista, and state police were able to help local officers determine that Batista’s cellphone pinged off a tower in New Haven. Police found Batista’s car on West Street in New Haven heading toward Congress Avenue just before 6 p.m.

Police said Batista stopped when he spotted the officers and a Naugatuck police SUV collided with Batista’s SUV.

Before officers could approach the SUV, Batista, still seated in the driver’s seat, shot himself in the head, police said.

EMTs rushed him to Yale-New Haven Hospital, where he was in critical condition Thursday night. Batista died Friday, police said.

The New Haven Police Department is investigating the crash and the self-inflicted shooting. The state police Major Crimes Division is assisting the Naugatuck Police Department with the shooting in Naugatuck.

Police said the case is open and the investigation is active.