The human remains a hunter found in a Colchester state forest on Nov. 28 have been identified as a 60-year-old Deep River man.

Police identified him as Jeffrey P. Ziobron, 60, of Deep River, and said there is no criminal aspect of the investigation.

A hunter found Ziobron’s remains along the Air Line State Park Trail, near an ATV path off the trail within Salmon River State Forest, state police said.

Clothing half buried in the ground nearby appeared to have been there for years.

An article in the Haddams-Killingworth Patch from 2013 said he was reported missing on May 2, 2013 and there was a report of a sighting in the Hebron-Lebanon area of the Airline Train a month later.

Route 4 was closed in Burlington, near the Farmington line, after a crash that has injured at least five people on Thursday evening.

State police said one person suffered serious injuries in a crash involving a dump truck and a car and four other people were also injured to varying degrees.

All of the victims were taken to the hospital to be evaluated.
 

Hamden police have arrested a Quinnipiac University student whose accused of dealing drugs and said they found a large amount of marijuana in his dorm room.

Hamden police responded to the university on Tuesday for a drug investigation and said they found more than 1.3 pounds of marijuana in the dorm room of Kyle Shapiro, 21, of New Jersey.

They also found eight-tens of a gram of cocaine, eight vials of hashish and $9,518 in cash, police said.

Shapiro was charged with possession of a controlled substance with the intent to sell, possession of a controlled substance, possession of narcotics and possession of drug paraphernalia.

He was released after posting a $50,000.00 bond and is scheduled to appear in Superior Court in Meriden on Dec. 14.

Police in Orange arrested two women and had to use a stun gun on one of them after they allegedly broke into a home on Thursday.

Police were called to Orange Center road just before 11:30 a.m. after homeowners reported a strange person entered their house.

The homeowners told police that the woman walked in through an unlocked door and started walking through the house. The victims got her out, but said the woman, identified as 35-year-old Peggy Curtiss, tried to force her way back in.

She then picked up a lawn decoration, used it to break a window, and climbed back into the house, police said.

When police arrived, they found Curtiss in the bathroom and she refused to come out. Officers used a stun gun to subdue her.

At the same time, officers found the woman's mother, also named Peggy Curtis, 55, in the driveway.

Both women were arrested.

The younger Curtiss is charged with second-degree burglary, criminal mischief, breach of peace, disorderly conduct and attempt to commit sixth-degree larceny.

The older Curtiss is facing charges of conspiracy to commit second-degree larceny and attempt to commit sixth-degree larceny.

Both are scheduled to be in court on Friday.

Chicago detectives are investigating a video appearing to show a toddler smoking marijuana.

In the video, the toddler, who is wearing a diaper, is sitting on a chair smoking what appears to be a joint.

The person behind the camera is heard saying “smoke man” and “inhale” while making sounds to show the boy how to inhale the smoke.

The child puts the joint to his mouth at least twice in the video before the man says, “Let me hit that, OK?”

Community activist Andrew Holmes notified authorities of the video late Wednesday after a tipster showed it to him on social media. At the time he captured it, the video had received more than 500 likes on Facebook and 1,200 comments. 

“This is sickening,” Holmes said. “This child needs help ASAP if he hasn’t had help already. It’s disturbing to hear the adult that was in the background to let them hit it and they’re telling the child to inhale.”

Chicago police said detectives with the Area South Special Victims unit are investigating the footage, but it’s not clear where the video was taken or when. 

A spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services could not confirm if the department will investigate the video. The Illinois Attorney General's office said it is not currently investigating the video. 

"If anyone could recognize that child or know who that child is, don't be afraid to call the Chicago Police Department," Holmes said. 

Troop I has stood in Bethany since the early 1930’s, but it’s fate is now in limbo. It’s now one of the cost-saving proposals from the state to reduce $330 million worth of services. The proposal would save the state $1.3 million.

"The response time would be affected not just for backup, but for calls for service to the public. Of the 19 town we have 3 that have resident troopers in the town," said Connecticut State Police Union President, Andrew Matthews.

Prospect, Beacon Falls and Bethany do not have their own police departments.

The proposal is a concern with residents.

“It would be scary for you know not to have a good response from police and not feel like if you call they’re going to come right away,” said Prospect resident, Regina Blanchard.

"I would hope that they would choose something else. Or several other small things but not this big important thing to cut," said Eva Andrews of Beacon Falls.

State lawmakers are also speaking out. House Republican Leader Themis Klarides, State Senator Joseph Crisco and state representative Lezlye Zupkus said in a joint statement: “The state police provide local as well as regional protection, and at a time of heightened concerned about public safety, we should look elsewhere for cost savings.”

NBC Connecticut also attained a copy of the state’s Connecticut State Police Staffing Study done in 2012. The report stated Troop I needed more staff – an additional 12 patrol troopers. Now union officials want to know what changed
since then for the state to want to eliminate the troop altogether.

Supporters of universal background checks and closing gun sale loopholes went on the offensive in the hours following the mass shooting in San Bernardino. Gov. Dannel Malloy said he thinks the United States may in fact be the most violent society in the world because of the number of people who die by gun violence each year.

“We have a national emergency" Gov. Malloy said following an event in New London. "Our children are being killed on a daily basis. Our coworkers are being killed on a daily basis.”

He went on saying, “Since 2001, over 400,000 individuals in America, Americans, have died as a result of gun violence” and said nearly 4,000 Americans have died due to international terrorist attacks.

“You can’t have it both ways. You can’t be worried about terrorism around the world that’s taken the lives of 3,800 Americans in the same period of time and not be worried about gun violence in America that’s taken more than 400,000 lives.”

Gun rights advocates like those at the Connecticut Citizens Defense League say politicians are wrongly using the attack in San Bernardino to forward an anti-gun owning agenda.

“Our elected officials here in Connecticut love gun control and they will use any means they can to affect that gun control" said CCDL's President Scott Wilson.

“They continually overlook the fact that criminals, terrorists, people who are out to harm people do whatever they can do to get a gun or any other kind of weapon, we’re looking at IEDs that were used. They will hurt and kill people no matter how they can do it.”

Malloy said he thinks it's common sense to close a loophole that allows Americans on intelligence-based terror watch lists to purchase guns. Wilson says there isn't a defined right to transportation.

“We don’t have a constitutional right to fly on an airplanes but we do as law-abiding citizens if we have not been convicted of a crime, or under indictment for a crime have a right to own firearms. That’s a constitutional principle that this country was founded on.”

Malloy says Americans have to come up with solutions to prevent more people from dying at the hands of people who acquired guns legally and illegally.

“It is undeniable that America has a problem and I’ll take any reasonable approach to resolving that problem.”

The smell of fresh gunpowder hung in the air in San Bernardino as four police officers braved the devastation and confusion of one the worst mass shootings in recent American memory.

In pursuit of active shooters who might have been around any corner, they had to tune out the wails and moans of the injured and a blaring fire alarm. These officers in Southern California were the first in the "surreal," bullet-riddled building on Wednesday, according to one of the officers who was there.

"It was unspeakable, the carnage that we were seeing," said Lt. Mike Madden, a 24-year veteran and the first on the scene after two people laid waste to a county health department holiday party on Wednesday.

Madden was on his way to lunch when he got the call from dispatch, he said Thursday, describing at a news conference what it was like to be the first police officer at the scene. Fourteen people were killed and 21 wounded, and the violent tableau was like nothing he'd ever seen in his career.

"As we entered into the conference room, the situation was surreal. It was something that I don't think we were prepared for," Madden said. "An active shooter, we talk about a sensory overload – they try to throw everything at you to prepare … it was all of that and more."

The massacre, allegedly at the hands of a husband and wife, has drawn the eyes of the world to the United States once again, days after another deadly shootout in Colorado. President Barack Obama called for gun control and other reforms after this shooting, as he's done after other shootings during his tenure. 

But the images inside the hall were fresh for Madden, who said he followed training instilled in officers since the Columbine school shooting in 1999 to clear the immediate danger, no matter what they saw or who needed help.

"This was tragedy that I've never experienced in my career and that I don't think most officers do," Madden said. 

Stern faced, Madden explained at the press conference what he saw as he and three other officers formed a tactical team to go inside the halls of the Inland Regional Center, the social services facility whose conference room was hosting the party.

Madden saw bodies outside the room and about 50 panicked survivors too afraid at first to follow officers' orders to flee to safety: "We had to tell them several times, 'Come to us, come to us.'"

At the same news conference, Governor Brown vowed that the people of California wouldn't have to face more scenes like this. 

"We're going to go just as far as we have to to make sure that public safety is being prorected," he said.

Mourners paid tribute Thursday to the lives lost amid the bloodshed of Wednesday's mass shooting in San Bernardino, California.

A picture began to emerge of the victims Thursday as the San Bernardino County Coroner's Office publicly identified the 14 people killed in the attack at a Southern California treatment center for people with developmental disabilities.

Nearly all of the victims, 12 total, worked for the county Department of Public Health, police officials said at a press conference Thursday evening. Most of the 21 people who were injured work for the county as well.

The victims are: Shannon Johnson, 45; Bennetta Bet-Badal, 46; Aurora Godoy, 26; Isaac Amanios, 60; Larry (Daniel) Kaufman, 42; Harry Bowman, 46; Yvette Velasco, 27; Sierra Clayborn, 27; Robert Adams, 40; Nicholas Thalasinos, 52; Tin Nguyen, 31; Juan Espinoza, 50; Damian Meins, 58; and Michael Wetzel, 37. 

A vigil at the San Manuel Stadium was held for all the victims, who were at an office holiday party when the gunfire erupted at about 11 a.m. PST. The shooting suspects were later killed in a shootout with police, and a federal investigation is probing what incited the massacre.

Families began to speak out about their lost loved ones.

'The Most Amazing Person'

Wetzel was a father of six, his church confirmed on Thursday. According to a friend, three of the children were from Wetzel's previous marriage to a woman named Amy and two were from a prior relationship of his current wife, Renee. The couple also had one child together.

"Michael was the most amazing person," said his wife, Renee Wetzel, in a statement. ​"He was my best friend and incredible Father who was loved by all. I didn't know a better person. He loved his work and his family so very much. Without him, this family will never be the same. We appreciate all the love and support that everyone is showing. We ask that out privacy be respected during this terrible time."

Church of the Woods in Lake Arrowhead, California, has set up a page to assist the family, with whom Pastor Ron Akins spent the morning, according to a church spokeswoman. Another fundraising page established to help the Wetzel family has raised more than $40,000.

Friends identified Damien Meins, whose family declined to speak with the media Thursday.

Victim Nicholas Thalasinos was identified by his wife, Jennifer, who said her husband was a Messianic Jew and her faith was strong. Jennifer said she knows her husband is in the arms of God. She noted that Thalasinos was very outspoken politically, and she felt he was a martyr for his faith.

Tamishia Clayborn confirmed her sister, Sierra Clayborn, was also killed in Wednesday's attack. She was very upset and did not want to talk.

After a day of holding out hope, Ryan Reyes confirmed his boyfriend, Daniel Kaufman, was killed in the rampage. Reyes said he went to the community center seeking information about Kaufman and was initially told his boyfriend had been shot in the arm and was undergoing surgery. It turned out to be misinformation.

"It was confirmed that Daniel's body has been positively identified as being one of the casualties at the scene," he told NBC News on Thursday. "Everything that I was told yesterday was misinformation."

"Everyone in my family is devastated," said Reyes' uncle, Gregory Johnson, who joined Reyes in the search for Kaufman on Wednesday night. "Daniel was a good person that we all loved."

Tin Nguyen's passing was confirmed by her cousin Tram Le.

"She was down to earth," Le told NBC News. "Whenever you needed any help or struggled in life, she was always there for you. She always wanted all the family to get together. She bought happiness to everyone."

Violence Condemned

"We condemn this senseless and horrific act of violence in the strongest possible terms," said Ahsan Khan, the president of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Los Angeles East Chapter. "Our community has been in San Bernardino County for nearly three decades, and yet have never seen such depravity. Our hearts go out to the innocent victims and their families. We stand in solidarity with them as their neighbors and brothers and sisters in peace."

Crisis response experts from Los Angeles were at the disposal of San Bernardino County authorities Thursday following a massacre blamed on a couple with a connection to Saudi Arabia, and investigators examined whether international terrorism was a factor in the violence.

President Barack Obama said at the National Christmas Tree lighting in Washington, D.C., on Thursday that the nation is thinking about the family of the victims.

"They should know that all of us care about them this holiday season. They're in our thoughts, they're in our prayers and we send them our love," he said.

A Wallingford town commissioner found a dead dog with a gunshot wound to the head in a town preserve on Thursday.

Police were called to the Tyler Mill Preserve on Tyler Mill Road just after 1 p.m.

A member of Wallingford's Conservation Commission found the dog wrapped in blue tarp at the bottom of an embankment, according to police.

The dog had been shot in the back of the head, police said.

Authorities described as a brown, female shepherd mix, was about one to three years old, with two white back paws. It was spayed and appeared to be healthy, police said. There was no collar or tags on the animal.

The Tyler Mill Preserve is a 1,000-acre piece of land owned by Wallingford. It is popular for hiking, fishing and mountain biking.

Anyone who may have witness anything is asked to call Wallingford police at 203-294-2805. 

Four people are dead and two have been hospitalized after a three-alarm fire tore through a home in Lynn, Massachusetts, Friday morning, according to the Lynn Fire Department.

Crews are on the scene at 24 Bruce Place and said 18 or 19 people lived in the home.

Two women, ages 18 and 60, were hospitalized with smoke and burn injuries, after they were rescued from the home, authorities said. Both were revived at the hospital.

Lynn Fire District Chief Jack Barry said, "It was absolutely amazing. I've been a firefighter in Lynn for 33 years and it was one of the most spectacular rescued I've seen. Those guys did an fantastic job."

Authorities have not released the identities of the four people killed.

Crews said the fire is out, but was difficult to extinguish. Part of the building has since collapsed.

The State Fire Marshal's Office says crews will likely be on scene all day.

The cause of the fire is not yet known.

The Pakistani woman killed in a shootout with police after the San Bernardino massacre, entered the U.S. through a visa program for foreigners engaged to American citizens, federal government sources told NBC News. 

Tashfeen Malik, 27, received a fiancé visa, known as a K-1 visa, which allows a foreign fiancé to travel to the U.S. for a wedding within 90 days. Malik married the other suspected shooter, Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, about two years ago, a family member told NBC News.

The fiancé visa program has one of the more rigorous security screening processes. It requires an applicant to submit a standard non-immigrant form, with personal and security questions, plus certificates from police in every country an applicant has lived for over six months, a medical examination, a passport, documentation of financial support, proof of the relationship with a U.S. citizen and various fees. 

"If you're bringing a fiancé to the U.S., there's more scrutiny for that than for tourist visas," said David Seminara, a former diplomat who authored a report about "Green Card Marriages" for the Center for Immigration Studies.

Firefighters battled a fire on Duval Street in Plainville on Friday morning.

The fire was visible from the back of the building when firefighters arrived and they contained the blaze to one room.

South Washington Street was closed as firefighters battled the fire, but it has reopened and firefighters have left the scene.

The residents will be able to stay in the home.

No additional information was available.

A New York Giants safety who once played for San Diego State University announced on Twitter that his cousin was among those killed Wednesday in the San Bernardino, California, mass shooting.

Nat Berhe tweeted Thursday morning that he had learned his cousin was one of 14 killed when two people opened fire inside a San Bernardino state-run social services facility on Wednesday. Gunfire erupted during a holiday party, and many of the victims were county employees, including Berhe's cousin.

"I am so sick right now," Berhe tweeted.

Later in the afternoon, he identified his cousin as 60-year-old Isaac Amanios, of Fontana, California. According to The Associated Press, Amanios worked for the county as a supervising environmental health specialist.

Berhe went on to share that his parents work at the building adjacent to where the shooting occurred. The player implored his followers to keep the families of the victims in their thoughts.

Berhe, 24, played defensive back for the San Diego State Aztecs from 2010 to 2012. He led the team in tackles his final year. The Colton, California, native is currently on the injured reserve list with the New York Giants after suffering a calf injury. He has not played since last season.

Twenty-one people were injured in Wednesday's massacre, which authorities said was carried out by a husband and wife. Their motive remains unclear, but intelligence sources have told NBC News the husband had contact with extremists under FBI observation and may have been radicalized.

Islamic leaders in Connecticut are condemning the mass shooting that killed more than a dozen people in Southern California, and a Meriden mosque that appears to have been targeted after the Nov. 13 Paris terror attacks will hold a vigil to honor the victims of the San Bernardino massacre.

Authorities have not determined a motive for the shooting in California that killed 14 people and injured 21 others at a holiday party at a state-run social services facility, but the suspects, Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, 27, were in contact with people who expressed jihadist views, U.S. intelligence sources told NBC News. The investigation continues and terrorism hasn’t been ruled out.

The shooting suspects' religion — the Ahmadiyaa sect of Islam — has Muslims in Connecticut on alert. Local Islamic leaders are emphasizing their religion is about peace.

"We condemn any kind of violence and we stand in solidarity with all Americans," said Dr. Mohammed Qureshi, president of the Connecticut Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. "I think all Muslims in the world want peace and there are a few who have hijacked our religion and we have to take it back from them."

Days after Islamic extremists took responsibility for carrying out the Nov. 13 terror attacks in Paris that left 130 dead and wounded hundreds more, someone opened fire into the Baitul Aman Mosque in Meriden, where Qureshi worships.

"One of the bullets actually came through the outer wall through the building, through the inner wall, and it actually exited... to the other wall," Salaam Bhatti, spokesperson for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA, described after the shooting last month.

Police said they have identified a suspect in that case, but have not named the person.

"When our mosque was shot at, we opened our doors, and the love and affection we got from fellow people in Connecticut was amazing," Qureshi said.

The Batal Aman Mosque will hold a candlelight vigil at 7 p.m. Friday to honor victims of the San Bernardino mass shooting. The public is invited to attend.

U.S. Special Forces stormed a Taliban prison in Afghanistan, successfully freeing dozens of Afghan security personnel during a joint operation with local forces, American military officials said Friday, NBC News reported. 

Ground troops from the Afghan Special Security Forces and the U.S. Special Mission Wing conducted a helicopter assault mission in the Nawzad district of Afghanistan's Helmand Province, the U.S. military said in a news release.

Afghan military spokesman Gen Dawlat Waziri said over 60 prisoners were freed in the operation.

A school bus and another vehicle were involved in a crash at Homestead Avenue and Garden Street in Hartford on Friday morning.

Children were on the bus, but they were not injured.

There is significant damage to the front of the car, but the driver was not taken to the hospital.

No additional information was immediately available.

Check back for updates.

Family, friends and the public gathered Friday afternoon to honor Nohemi Gonzalez, the 23-year-old Cal State Long Beach student killed in the terrorist attacks that left 129 people dead in Paris.

Gonzalez was eating with friends at a popular bistro in Paris called La Belle Equipe on Nov. 13 when terrorists started storming in and shooting.

"We thank God for the 23 years that he allowed us to enjoy her," Beatriz Gonzalez, mother of Nohemi, told NBC4 before the service began.

Her parents also offered their own condolences to families of the victims in San Bernardino, feeling the same pain they've endured for a similar act of terror.

"We understand their pain," Jose Hernandez, Nohemi's stepfather, said. "Thinking about what they're going through right now, it's hard, it's hard."

Family members spoke at a podium for the 1 p.m. service at the Calvary Chapel in Downey, remembering the woman they called a "firecracker."

"She went to a better place," Beatriz said. "I don't have the words to describe my pain, but we're going to be OK."

Nohemi was a student at CSU Long Beach studying abroad at the Strate College of Design in Paris.

The service for Nohemi was held at 1 p.m. at the Calvary Chapel in Downey. 

A total of 129 people died in the corrdinated Paris terror attacks at the Bataclan theater where the SoCal band the Eagles of Death Metal were performing, a soccer stadium, and at the cafe. 

Days after Nohemi's death, CSU Long Beach held a remembrance service where her boyfriend Tim Mraz spoke about his slain girlfriend who he had been dating for four years. 

"We miss her today and we'll miss her forever," University president Jane Close Conoley said at the remembrance ceremony. 

Nohemi's father tapped his chest with his hand and said: "Mimi is in our hearts. Mimi is not dead."

A burglar broke into a Milford home on Thursday night and stole jewelry, gold, coin sets and a safe that held two guns, according to police.

The burglary happened on West Rutland Road between 6:25 p.m. and 8:54 p.m. on Thursday and police said the burglar pried a back door open, then ransacked the master bedroom.

The person tool a pillowcase and several pieces of jewelry, Italian gold, mint coin sets from the 1960s, silver certificate currency and a Sentry fire safe that contained a .38 revolver and a .25 semiautomatic.

No information was available on the make or model.

Police ask anyone with information to call Milford Police at (203) 878-6551 or Detective Sergeant Bassett at 203-783-4727 or email tbassett@ci.milford.ct.us.

You can also submit a tip online.

The brother-in-law of one of the San Bernardino shooting suspects said Wednesday’s massacre had nothing to do with Syed Rizwan Farook's religion, but rather was a “personal act” that he hopes wouldn't reflect on all Muslims.

"I am Muslim; I'm a good person. There is a lot of good Muslims there," Farhan Khan told NBC's Lester Holt. "He was a bad person. That was his personal act." 

Khan said he had no idea what prompted the rampage. 

Police said Farook, 28, attended a holiday party at a state-run social services center Wednesday and left "angry." They believe he came back with his wife, Tashfeen Malik, 27, and opened fire, killing 14 and injuring 21 others. The couple died more than four hours later in a shootout with police.

"I wish we could have… some slightest idea," Khan told NBC News Thursday.

Khan said his brother-in-law wasn’t a political person and never gave any indication as to what may have motivated him to attack party-goers with four guns and and an explosive device that failed to detonate. Many of those killed were county employees, authorities said.

Officials told NBC News that Farook may have been radicalized, and U.S. intelligence sources have said Farook was in contact with extremists under FBI surveillance.

A friend of shooting victim Nicholas Thalasinos told The Associated Press that Farook had a heated conversation about Islam two weeks before the attack. She said Thalasinos, a Messianic Jew, told her Farook "doesn't agree that Islam is not a peaceful religion" and that Americans don't understand Islam. Thalasinos and Farook worked together for the county health department.

Thalasinos' wife, Jennifer, told NBC Los Angeles that Farook got along with everybody, but she believes he was radicalized during a recent trip abroad.

"I think this was happening behind the scenes, he wasn't showing this part of himself at work because I know if he would've been, my husband would've had something to say," Jennifer Thalasinos said. "My husband was very outspoken about Islamic terrorism."

Khan, however, said his brother-in-law was a “good religious person,” who wasn’t a radical.

"It's his stupid action, nothing to do with religion at all. It's always going to be a question... You know, why he did something like that. A normal person living with my family. Why would he do something like that?” Khan wondered.

He expressed his condolences for the victims and their families that added that Farook’s family would have contacted authorities if there was any known threat.

Khan also spoke at a press conference Wednesday evening held by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, condemning the attacks.

"I am in shock that something like this can happen," he said on Wednesday.

Farook and Malik had an infant daughter, who was left with her grandmother before the shooting took place.

"You left your 6-month-old daughter…in this life," Khan said, as though speaking directly to his late brother-in-law. "Some people cannot have kids. God gave you a gift of a daughter. And you left that kid behind. What…what did you achieve?"

Khan said he hopes to adopt Farook and Malik’s orphaned girl, who's currently in protective custody.

Ari Mason contributed to this report.