74-Year-Old Shooting Spree Suspect Charged In Southington

SOUTHINGTON, CT — The 74-year-old man accused of shooting up a church, a business and several homes in Southington as well as the state Capitol was arraigned in an area hospital Thursday on local charges, police said.

Southington police said they are continuing to work with the state police Major Crime Squad, Cromwell Police, Bristol Police, and the State Capital Police on the case and additional charges are anticipated.

Thursday's proceedings for Floyd Douglas Gollnick were for two shootings that took place in Southington on May 30, police said.

For an incident at 376 North Star Drive, Gollnick has been charged with criminal attempt at first-degree assault, unlawful discharge of a firearm, first-degree reckless endangerment, criminal use of a firearm and first-degree criminal mischief.

For an incident at 70 Meriden Ave., Gollnick has been be charged with unlawful discharge of a firearm, first-degree reckless endangerment, criminal use of a firearm, first-degree criminal mischief, interfering with police and engaging police in a pursuit.

As of Thursday afternoon, Gollnick was being detained on combined $750,000 court-set bonds, record show. He has been turned over to the Connecticut Department of Corrections and is scheduled to appear in New Britain Superior Court on July 15, police said.

Gollnick is from the Plantsville section of Southington and had no known criminal history prior to the incident, police said. He has only had two recent police contacts — welfare checks in December — police said.

The wild sequence in Southington involving Gollnick began to unravel May 30 at 6:43 p.m., when Southington police received a call from a citizen at 2344 Meriden-Waterbury Road, reporting 16 shots fired at the residence, according to an incident report.

At 7:13 p.m., police received a call from a resident at 376 North Star Drive reporting four-to-five shots fired at the property, according to an incident report.

At at 7:39 pm, police received an alarm call from Hartford HealthCare Group at 70 Meriden Ave. reporting a "glass break," according to an incident report.

Shots fired at a fourth location, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints campus at 750 Meriden- Waterbury Turnpike, was reported at 8:54 p.m., by a church member, and police said the incident had taken place earlier in the day.

As officers arrived at Hartford HealthCare to investigate the alarm, they discovered a black Chevrolet Silverado parked behind the office and saw a man wearing a yellow T-shirt and blue jeans, matching the description of a suspect in an earlier shooting incident in Bristol, according a news release. Officers then saw the man, standing outside the vehicle with the passenger side door open, holding what they called a "long rifle," according to a news release.

As officers attempted to establish a perimeter around the building, shots were heard from the suspect's location, behind the building, according to a news release.

Officers then saw the man drive the black Silverado around the building and onto Meriden Avenue, according to a news release.
From there, a pursuit spilled south onto Old Turnpike Road and continued south on Interstate-691, police said.

Southington, Meriden and Middletown police, along with state police, pursued the suspect vehicle into Middletown and onto Route 66, where Middletown police were able to deploy stop sticks, according to a news release. The Silverado eventually came to a stop on the Arrigoni Bridge, police said.

While taking Gollnick into custody, officers seized a .22-cal "long rifle" from the front passenger seat, according to a news release.

In Southington, the homes at 2344 Meriden-Waterbury Turnpike and 376 North Star Drive were occupied at the time of the shootings, but no injuries were reported, police said.

The suspect was subsequently identified as Gollnick and he was sent to an area hospital, police said. Gollnick had some association with every property, police said.

Police said warrants have been issued to search both Gollnick's home and vehicle and charges could be filed for the incidents at the balance of the properties.

Here is a summary:

• The 2344 Meriden Waterbury Turnpike incident is still being investigated. Forensic analysis is being completed and charges will be added through an arrest warrant.
• For the 376 North Star Drive incident, Gollnick was charged Thursday.
• For the 70 Meriden Ave. shooting, Gollnick was charged Thursday.
• The Mormon church incident at 750 Waterbury Turnpike is still being investigated and additional charges will be added through an arrest warrant.

Other Southington locations being investigated include: 156 School St., 216 Flanders Road and 828 Meriden Waterbury Turnpike, police said.

According to an incident report, at approximately 6:30 p.m. Sunday, a resident at 156 School St reported hearing a noise outside the residence. The resident was unable to identify the noise but then received a call from a church member, and, after checking further, the resident discovered several bullet holes in a wall and into a second floor bedroom. Investigators determined approximately 12-to-15 shots were fired into a second floor bedroom wall. The home was occupied at the time and no one in the home was injured.

Between 6:30 and 7 p.m., a resident at 216 Flanders Rd reported hearing a noise outside the home, police said. The resident then noticed a lone man sitting in a black truck in the road in front of the home, but did not immediately identify him as Gollnick and thought it was a delivery driver. In all, 16 shots were fired into the home's garage door, police said.

At 8:28 pm., on Meriden Waterbury Turnpike, at Polumbo’s Service Center, investigators discovered 12 bullet holes from shots fired into overhead doors at the business, police said.

Anyone with any additional information on the shootings can call Southington police at 860-621-0101.

Bullet holes from the Capitol shooting were discovered Monday and Gollnick was identified as a suspect, state police said.

"It was determined that the incident took place on May 30, 2021, and is directly related to the shootings in the town of Southington on May 30, 2021," said state police in a release.

Connecticut Department of Justice officials said the case has been moved to the Part A docket and added other shooting incidents that took place over the weekend in Cromwell, Bristol and Hartford remain under investigation as well as Southington and the Capitol.