Police Stop East Windsor Road Rage Suspect Amid Rumor Mill Frenzy

EAST WINDSOR-ENFIELD, CT — A report of a shot being fired from a van, shattering a window of another vehicle on Wells Road, was broadcast to all East Windsor police officers around 3:25 Tuesday afternoon. Witnesses said the van, bearing a Massachusetts registration plate, traveled down Route 140, then headed northbound on Interstate 91 as Enfield and state police received notifications.

Moments later, Enfield police reported the van had been detained at the bottom of the Exit 48 off-ramp in their town, with nine police vehicles from three agencies present at the scene. An investigation quickly concluded that no shots had been fired, but that a road rage incident had taken place, in which a driver threw an object from his vehicle which shattered a window on another vehicle.

Initial police scanner reports are often revised, sometimes within moments, as cases develop. Unfortunately, a civilian listening to the police radio broadcast of Tuesday's pursuit immediately posted on Facebook that a shooting had taken place, kicking off a knee-jerk social media frenzy.

As has become common with real-time incidents, the thirst for instant information, coupled with overzealous "citizen reporters," created a domino effect of less than accurate facts being disseminated by social media aficionados prior to police having a chance to initiate an investigation.

While panicked thoughts ran through the minds of those believing gunshots had actually been fired, investigators thoroughly questioned the driver, an Enfield resident, and issued him a misdemeanor summons for second-degree breach of peace, third-degree criminal mischief and interfering with an officer.

Late Tuesday night, East Windsor Police Department public information officer Derek Leab took to Facebook himself to clear up the confusion on the department's page.

"There is information circulating on Facebook that a shooting occurred on Wells Road this afternoon. This is understandable as the incident was initially reported as a shooting and that information was put over the radio to our officers. Our investigation revealed there was NOT a shooting but that a road rage incident did take place. A suspect threw an object from his vehicle which shattered a window on the victim's vehicle. This was determined through a witness' account of the incident. There were no injuries to anyone involved."

Patch editor Chris Dehnel contributed to this story.

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