Man Fires Gun in Woods, Calls for Help

A citizen called Wilton Police last Thursday at 7 a.m., stating that they heard gunshots and cries for help from the woods behind the Wolfpit Road Commuter lot, located at 177 Danbury Road, police said.

Officers found a man “holding himself up by a small tree”; as they approached the man—who was described as looking “disheveled”—police saw a handgun in the man’s front pocket, which they confiscated, police reports state. 

Police identified the man as Karl Alphonse, 57, of Ward Street in Norwalk.  Alphonse initially stated that he had not fired his gun, but had lit fireworks in order to signal for help, police said. Police said they found no fireworks at the scene.

The man had been camping in the area for two days, apparently at makeshift campsite in order to go fishing. However, the accused had wandered away from the campsite “due to some kind of medical episode” and was then “trying to get help,” reports state.

The gun was a .357 Magnum and had one live round and two spent rounds in the chamber, reports state. The man also had a speed loader with live ammunition and a buck knife, according to police.

Three canines were released on the scene to make sure there were no victims of the shooting. A bomb-sniffing dog from the Conn. State PD assisted in finding the spent shell casings on the ground, and a cadaver dog searched the area for dead bodies—none were found, said Captain John Lynch of the Wilton Police Department. A canine loaned from Westport scouted the area as well.  

Police had also considered the use of a helicopter to scan the area for signs of possible victims, but decided against it, said Lynch.