Friday, October 8, 2010

Connecticut Be Buggin' Today!

BRANFORD, Conn. — Police and FBI agents Friday night said a tractor-trailer stopped in Branford, Conn., and suspected of carrying explosives was empty, NBC station WVIT of Hartford reported.

Branford first selectman Anthony DaRos earlier said police told him authorities were holding the semitrailer at a travel stop on Interstate 95.

The Hartford Courant reported troopers approached the vehicle and took the driver and a passenger into custody at gunpoint, then checked the vehicle for hazards. It also reported that the state police bomb squad was en route.

Police were told to be on the lookout for a brown Peterbilt tractor-trailer that may have a bomb in it that was en route from Rhode Island to New York City, the New Haven Register reported. Officers were told if they encountered it to stop it and create a perimeter and stand by.

Branford is about 80 miles north of New York City.

In another incident, around 6:21 p.m. Friday, a Connecticut state trooper shot and killed a motorist after what police said was a routine traffic stop on I-84 near Danbury, the Courant reported. Danbury is about 45 miles away from Branford.

The driver opened fire on the officer, who returned fire and shot the motorist multiple times. The trooper was uninjured, the Courant said.

The two passengers fled.

The highway was closed in both directions Friday night.

On Wednesday, two men were found in a Mercedes with what appeared to be a pipe bomb, ammunition, gas masks and other materials. Authorities say it's unclear whether they planned to use the explosives because they are not talking to investigators. Both were being held on $500,000 bond.

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