A New Haven restaurant, Michelina’s, was hit by a shooting and an explosion on July 29, with police still investigating the incidents. The restaurant’s owner, Cheryl Maselli, said she spent $6,000 replacing the windows of her restaurant after someone fired eight bullets at the State Street pizzeria.

Investigation Ongoing

According to Assistant Chief Manmeet Bhagtana, the two incidents are being investigated separately, and a suspect has been identified in the case of the explosion. However, police do not know if there was any connection between the two cases.

The New Haven Police Department is now in charge of both cases, after the FBI initially took the lead on investigating the explosion. The FBI got involved because of the use of an explosive, but the case was handed over to the NHPD as it is not unusual for multiple agencies to be involved in an incident.

Police believe that the explosive device used was an M-80, a large firework. The person who detonated the device prematurely blew up part of their hand, and police do not know what their intentions were or who the intended target was.

Community Reaction

Neighbors who attended a community meeting about the incidents questioned why Maselli hadn’t called 911 directly. Maselli said she did not want to call too much attention to the incident out of concern for the reputation of her business.

Police urged the community to report any suspicious activity, and Maselli said she supports the police investigation into both incidents. She also said that she believes both the shooting and the explosion were deliberately aimed at her restaurant, but she doesn’t know why.

Original reporting: New Haven Independent — read the source article.