The Waterbury Police are looking to identify the suspect involved in an assault and robbery on Monday.

The owner of the family-owned convenience store said the man came into the store located on 52 E. Farm Street around 4:30 pm.

She said the man came in, brought detergent to the counter and asked how much it costs. When she came from behind the counter, the suspect put her in a chokehold and dragged her to the ground. The man continued to punch her in the face and threatened to beat her with a rock.

Police confirmed that the woman was hit by the rock in the back of the head but the woman couldn't remember when NBC Connecticut spoke with her. The rock was left at the scene. 

The suspect ran off with the victim's cellphone and other unidentified items.

A surveillance video shows the suspect coming up behind an unidentified person and choking them. The two can be seen grappling with one another before the suspect fled on foot. 

The suspect is described as male, 5'8" thin build in his early 20's. Anyone with information can contact the Waterbury Detective Bureau at 203-574-6941.

The Clark School in Hartford will not be reopening after polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were found in the air last winter.

On Wednesday, the superintendent confirmed that repairs were far costiler than originally anticipated and that they hope to build a brand new school sometime inthe future. 

The Clark School shut down and students were sent elsewhere in January after PCB chemicals were identified inside the school. In August, notices went out urging parents to make other plans for their children in place for the duration of the 2015-2016 academic year.

PCBs, or airborne industrial chemicals, were identified when the school began the process of installing a new sprinkler system.

The School Building Committee, which is in charge of the Clark School project, said it had been making progress but could not solidified a date for reopening the school when asked in August. 

Parents and teachers raised concerns about an elementary school volunteer and youth choir director accused of recording "vile sexual acts" between children on school grounds, but the principal took no action, claiming the teachers lacked proof, according to a lawsuit filed by the guardian of a victim.

The family that alerted police about possible sex abuse at Judge Sylvania Woods Elementary School last week is suing the school district and the suspect.

The civil complaint claims a 9-year-old boy was told by the accused teacher's aide, 22-year-old Deonte Carraway, that he was part of a "club."

Carraway had children openly perform sexual acts in various parts of the school where the abuse should have been obvious, according to the lawsuit.

The complaint also says parents of the 9-year-old told Principal Michelle Williams about the abuse Thursday and were told to return to the school in Glenarden, Maryland, for a meeting the next day.

The parents called police, instead, and Carraway was arrested Friday.

Williams was placed on leave Wednesday morning, Prince George's County Public Schools confirmed.

Carraway, faces 10 child pornography charges and charges of sex abuse of a minor and second-degree sex offense.

Police, who are being assisted by the FBI, said they found about 40 videos showing 10 victims ages 9-13 performing sex acts with each other or alone. Carraway can be seen in one video molesting a child, according to the documents. In other videos, he can be heard directing the victims.

Carraway, of Glenarden, has admitted being involved in producing child pornography, police said.

Detectives said videos also were created at the Glenarden Municipal Center, the Theresa Banks Memorial Aquatic Center and in private homes.

Carraway also was the director of the Glenarden Voices of Youth Choir at the municipal center, police said. He was a paid assistant at the school during the 2014-15 school year.

Carraway was arrested after the uncle of the 9-year-old boy saw a disturbing image on the child's phone, in the app Kik.

That one complaint grew to 10 victims during the weekend, police said. The lawsuit says there could be up to 30 victims.

Carraway is being held on $1 million bond.

The investigation could take months, police said.

Anyone aware of other possible victims should call Prince George's County police at 301-772-4930, or the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI.

 A 15-year-old freshman with special needs was beat up by four other students in the high school's bathroom, a spokesman for the city confirmed. 

Late Wednesday morning, the victim was taken to the hospital after being assaulted at Bassick High School in Bridgeport, Michael Gianotti, a Bridgeport spokesman, said. 

The freshman was treated for injuries at a local hospital and is expected to be fine, Gianotti said. 

The four students, ranging from ages 14 to 15, were arrested and accused of third degree assault. They were released on a promise to appear in court, Gianotti said.

There were no other details at this time. 

A New Haven Public School teacher who was under investigation for alleged inappropriate conduct with an Engineering and Science University Magnet School student has been arrested, the school said.

At the beginning of February, the New Haven mayor's office told NBC Connecticut that the investigation was for "unprofessional" conduct with a student at ESUMS. 

The teacher was "immediately" removed from the classroom, New Haven Public Schools said in a statement.

The New Haven Police and the State Department of Children and Families conducted an investigation, the statement said. 

ESUMS is a New Haven school located in Hamden. 

This story is developing. Check back for updates.

A Bridgeport teacher has been arrested after she was accused of assaulting a special education student, the superintendent confirms. 

Lydia Struble, a music teacher at Thomas Hooker Elementary School was immediately put on paid administrative leave over reports that she may have assaulted a student with special needs, a City of Bridgeport spokesman confirm.

The city spokesman, Michael Giannotti, said Struble will be on leave as the Board of Education investigates the allegations. 

This story is developing. Check back for updates.

After a fresh coating to 2 inches of snow today, another round of snow showers is expected tomorrow.

No surface front is expected tomorrow, but there are bursts of energy in the upper atmosphere that will trigger lift and thus snow showers.

Two windows of enhanced risk for snow exist tomorrow. The first is early in the morning, before and during the morning commute, and the second is early in the afternoon.

A coating to 2 inches of snow are possible in the cities and towns that get in on a snow shower. Not everyone will see snow tomorrow.

At least some school delays are likely, in the impacted towns.

SIGN UP FOR SCHOOL CLOSING ALERTS

This is an ideal time to download the NBC Connecticut App, which has an interactive radar.

High temperatures tomorrow will only be in the 20s, so slippery roads are expected once again where the snow falls.

Finally, a day with no new snow arrives Friday. Skies will feature a blend of more clouds than sunshine with highs only in the 20s.

The weekend looks mainly dry, save for a few snow showers Saturday morning, so the big story will be major cold.

With lots of clouds temperatures will only be in the teens Saturday, but plunge into the single digits below zero on Sunday morning.

With a gusty north wind, wind chills will be near 30 below zero Sunday morning. Air temperatures will peak in the teens by the afternoon, which is still on the cold side for Valentine's Day.

It's been exceptionally difficult to set record low temperatures in recent years, but they are a possibility Sunday.

In the Hartford area, the record low is -9 set in 1979 and the record low max is 11 in 1979.

In the Bridgeport area, the record low is 3 set in 2015 and the record low max is 18 in 1979.

It looks dry to begin the new work week on Monday with temperatures back near freezing but a storm could bring a wintry mix on Tuesday.

Hamden police have charged a local man with the murder of a 45-year-old woman who was found in her burning home on Lilac Avenue in Hamden in December.

The body of Jennifer Antonier was found on the second floor of her Lilac Avenue home just before 1:30 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 26.  The front of her neck had been cut and the medical examiner determined her death was homicide.

She died of wounds of the neck and upper left extremity with blunt injury of upper left extremity.

Police said the fire at Antonier's house started on the front porch and it had been set.

Benjamin Carpenter, 26, of Hamden, has been charged with murder, arson in the first degree, tampering with evidence and conspiracy charges.

Police said Antonier and Carpenter knew each other, but did not elaborate on how they knew each other. 

He was arrested on Wednesday with help from several United States Marshal Service Task Force members, Hamden police said.

He was detained at police headquarters on a court-ordered $1 million bond and was transported to Meriden Superior Court this morning.

Carpenter was arraigned and is due back in court on March 1.

Police are continuing to investigate and said more arrests are possible.

A woman who said she was unhappy with her haircut returned to a San Diego salon and tried shooting her barber, but the gun jammed and employees tackled the woman, police and the barber told NBC 7.

The incident happened Wednesday morning at the 619 Barber Shop on the 3900 block of 30th Street, where 29-year-old Adrian Blanche Swain went to get a trim.

Barber Manny Montero told NBC 7 she left happy, giving him a $20 tip on top of her $20 cut, but an hour later, Swain returned upset — and with a different haircut.

"She said, 'Look what you did to my hair,'" Montero said. "She came in with a bald spot on the side, and I am like, 'I didn't do that.'" 

Disgruntled, the woman pulled out a gun and tried firing at Montero, police said. The gun was loaded but malfunctioned, clicking three times as Swain allegedly tried to fire off rounds.

"She had it. She was gonna do it," said Montero. "For some reason, God was there."

Chris Tatum, another barber who was watching the confrontation, told NBC 7 if the gun had worked, Swain could have shot three or four people in the shop.

Montero said he was more angry than scared. 

"Grabbed her arm, grabbed the gun," he recalled. "We threw her to the floor and held her until authorities came." 

Police arrested Swain, who was expected to face a charge of attempted murder. Information on an attorney for Swain was not immediately available.

After his brush with death, Montero left work early to see his young sons. Whatever brought Swain back to the shop, she is already forgiven, the mild-mannered barber said.

"Your whole life runs in front of your eyes, so that's what it did. That's what happened," said Montero.

The San Diego Police Department's Mid City Division is investigating. Anyone with information is asked to call San Diego police or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.

Lovers, snuggle up. Millions of people from New England to Florida will be in the path of an Arctic blast this weekend, with possible record lows predicted for Valentine's Day.

The Northeast will register single-digit and sub-zero temperatures: In New York, the wind chill could get as low as negative 15 degrees Sunday morning, forecasters said.

According to the Weather Channel, the Northeast will likely see its coldest temperatures of the winter so far, The Weather Channel reported. Subzero cold is also expected in parts of the Midwest, forecasters added.

Meanwhile, in California and Arizona, it could get into the 70s and 80s, the National Weather Service said.

Gov. Dannel Malloy is activating the state’s Severe Cold Weather Protocol from 4 p.m. today through 10 a.m. on Monday as we brace for temperatures to plunge to 0 and wind chills that will make it feel 20- to 30-degrees below zero for some parts of the state.

Malloy is urging residents to prepare for bitter cold temperatures over the next several days and said the several cold weather protocol directs the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, the Department of Social Services, the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services and the Department of Housing to coordinate with 211 and shelters to ensure that the state’s most vulnerable populations are protected from the severe cold weather.

“The next few days will certainly be the coldest we have seen so far this winter season, and could be among the coldest nights in terms of wind chill that our state has experienced in several years,” Malloy said. “Those in need of shelter or a warming center should call 211 to find available locations, which are open throughout the state.”

The Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security will activate its WebEOC communications network, which enables local, regional and state emergency management officials and first responders to share up-to-date information about a variety of situations and conditions.

Protect Your House

Connecticut Water is offering tips for residents to take to keep pipes in your home from freezing:

• Know What Areas of Your Home are Most Vulnerable to Freezing – Basements, crawl spaces, unheated rooms, and outside walls are at higher risk of having temperatures affect pipes
• Eliminate Sources of Cold Air Near Water Lines – Allow room heat to freely circulate around these areas. Seal cracks or holes in windows, walls or doors near the meter or pipes
• Protect Your Pipes and Water Meter – Wrap exposed pipes with insulation or use electrical heat tracing wire; newspaper or fabric may also work. For outside meters, keep the lid to the meter pit closed tightly and let any snow
• If you have pipes that are vulnerable to  freezing, allow a small  trickle of water to run overnight to keep from freezing up. The cost of extra water is low compared to cost of repairing a broken pipe.
•  Expose pipes to warmer room temperatures by letting warm air to freely circulate the area.  Set up a small space heater for pipes that are more likely to freeze.
• Check for cracks in the vault cover of outside meter installations – A cracked cover permits cold air to enter and all insulation value to be lost. The double cover is then unable to protect against freezing.

Know where your main water shut-off valve is in the case a pipe freezes or burst so you can shut off the water immediately and minimize damage.

Protect Your Car

The cold temperatures can also do a number on your car.

John DeSimone, owner of Modern Tire in West Hartford, said it is important to take preventative measures now to prevent a headache later.

"You have to be more aware of your car, treat it more like it is an investment, but it is also a casket on wheels if you do not take care of it,” DeSimone said.

DeSimone recommends having your battery checked. Typically batteries last 3 to 5 years. They are one of the prime culprits for causing drivers problems during cold weather.

He also recommends having your serpentine belt checked. If it is cracked or stretched, it could also prevent your car from starting.

It is also good to put a winter blend of windshield wiper fluid in, make sure you have decent traction on your tires and repeatedly check your tire pressure because it fluctuates in the cold and could go flat.

“You cannot push the limit. It is winter time. It is bad enough that you need tires, but if you do not have an all-season tire or a snow tire in this kind of weather, it is kind of hard to drive,” DeSimone said.

It is a lesson drivers like Brian Waddell, of West Hartford, know all too well.
   
“I came back to a flat tire and I had to drive it down here and manually do it on a Monday morning. It was great, but those are the things that if you are checking your air pressure the right way, you could have avoided, I guess,” he said.

To get the latest forecast, download the NBC Connecticut app.
 

Inspections performed in the wake of last summer's deadly balcony collapse near the University of California, Berkeley revealed more than 400 buildings with balconies, stairways, decks and landings in need of repair, according to a city report released Wednesday afternoon.

Six students were killed — including five from Ireland and one from Rohnert Park — and seven others were injured June 16 when a balcony broke off a downtown Berkeley apartment building during a woman’s 21st birthday celebration.

Wednesday's report notes that Berkeley wanted to respond "swiftly following the tragic collapse of the 4th floor balcony" at 2020 Kittredge Street, known as the Library Gardens apartments, and develop code amendments to "reduce the likelihood that a catastrophic collapse" could occur again.

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Problems ran the gamut from minor water intrusion to major leaks, according to the report. The city had 2,200 such buildings with "weather-exposed elements," and inspectors found that 402 needed fixes. The story was first reported by Berkleyside.

Property owners were given 90 days to make the fixes and city spokesman Matthai Chakko said "most" had been completed.

The city council in July required the inspection of all weather-exposed exterior elements in properties with at least three units and ordered that subsequent inspections take place every three years.

Berkeley also stiffened requirements for building materials and venting in order to make inspections easier to conduct and improve airflow to elements that could be impacted by water damage and other problems.

City staff sent out nearly 6,090 letters to property owners of multi-family buildings to inform them of the new inspection rules. The city received responses to about 4,400, or 72 percent of the letters that were sent, the report notes.

The Alameda County district attorney launched a criminal investigation last year into the cause of the balcony collapse. The DA’s office has not released any information about the probe since its initial announcement in June.

Teresa Drenick, spokeswoman for the office, confirmed Wednesday to Berkeleyside that the investigation is ongoing. 

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Valentine's Day isn't just for lovers as 50 percent of singles report being proud of their relationship status. But whether you're in a relationship or not, Americans have no problem spending big for the holiday for their loved ones and even themselves.

$19.7 billion is projected to be spent in the United States for the holiday this year, with the average person spending nearly $150. Some of that money will go towards furry friends as one in five people will buy their pet a gift in the name of Cupid and 24 percent of singles will gift themselves a treat as well, according to WalletHub.

For the couples across America, 90.8 percent plan to give their significant other a gift which is a good idea considering 53 percent of women say they would break up with their significant other if they didn't receive one for Valentine's Day.

The day of love can also prove life changing for some couples as 14 million marriage proposals are slated to happen this holiday.

The State Department dismissed on Thursday Russia's claims that two American warplanes bombed the war-torn Syrian city of Aleppo, NBC News reported.

The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that two U.S. Air Force A-10 attack aircraft on Wednesday bombed nine targets in the city, which has been subjected to increased levels of violence in recent days.

The ministry said in a statement Thursday that the U.S. "did not make this mission public" and speculated that "perhaps there had been two hospitals" among the targets.

However, a senior State Department official told NBC News that the Russian claims were "false" and that there had been no U.S. missions over Aleppo on Wednesday or Thursday.

Police said they are investigating a death on Madison Avenue in East Hartford.

The scene is secure and there is no danger to the public, according to police.

No additional information was immediately available.

Check back for updates.
 

A stray bullet nearly hit a child in a portable elementary school classroom Thursday morning in the second shooting outside a Miami-Dade school in as many days, officials said.

Miami-Dade Supt. Alberto Carvalho said two bullets hit the portable classroom at Frances S. Tucker Elementary School at 3500 Southwest 37th Avenue, also known as Douglas Avenue, in Miami's Coconut Grove neighborhood.

One bullet ricocheted, while the other one pierced the building wall and narrowly missed a child, authorities said. No injuries were reported.

Miami Police said the shooting happened shortly after 9 a.m. and involved an exchange of gunfire between unknown parties.

In a press conference outside the elementary school, Carvalho described the scene inside with crying children huddled under their desks. He described hugging children with tears still in their eyes.

"It was shocking to me to walk into the school and to see kids cowered under desks with teachers stoically protecting them, that should not be a scene that anybody should witness here in Miami," Carvalho told NBC 6.

At least five shots were fired nearby, Carvalho said. The school was placed on lockdown. Miami-Dade School Board Police said they are working to locate bullet casings.

"I heard like seven gunshots, it was right by the school and there were some kids in the portables," student Khyarree Jackson said. "My teacher just locked down the doors and turned off the lights."

The shooting comes less than a day after shots were fired outside Carol City Senior High School in Miami Gardens. Although school officials initially said a student had been shot, they later clarified that no one was hurt.

Carvalho called the narrow misses "two miracles in two days."

He took to Twitter Thursday morning, calling the shootings "disturbingly unacceptable."

"Bullets have no place in our community. Bullets certainly have no place in our classrooms," he said.

Carvalho said that the schools themselves are safe but the conditions outside the schools are dangerous.

"When chance and luck are the best defense that our children have in Miami or in this county, something is terribly broken," Carvalho said.

Carvalho indicated that over the past 12 months, 60 children have been shot in Miami-Dade, resulting in the deaths of 20 children.

"Our schools are safe, but we need the community's involvement to make sure they continue to be safe and the communities need to be safe and we want people to speak up," Dade Schools Police Chief Ian Moffett said.

Stay with NBC 6 for updates on this developing story.

Two tractor-trailers collided on Interstate 95 South over the Moses Wheeler Bridge in Stratford and traffic is backed up into Milford.

The saddle tank of a tractor-trailer carrying rock salt ruptured when the truck and another tractor-trailer collided and there is a fuel spill, according to police.

No significant injuries are reported, but police warn of extended lane closures.

No additional information was immediately available.
 

A bitter blast of cold air is moving into Connecticut this weekend, with temperatures expected to dip to zero, but feel much colder, and that could spell trouble for your vehicle.

John DeSimone, owner of Modern Tire in West Hartford, said it is important to take preventative measures now to prevent a headache later.

"You have to be more aware of your car, treat it more like it is an investment, but it is also a casket on wheels if you do not take care of it,” DeSimone said.

DeSimone recommends having your battery checked. Typically batteries last 3 to 5 years. They are one of the prime culprits for causing drivers problems during cold weather.

He also recommends having your serpentine belt checked. If it is cracked or stretched, it could also prevent your car from starting.

It is also good to put a winter blend of windshield wiper fluid in, make sure you have decent traction on your tires and repeatedly check your tire pressure because it fluctuates in the cold and could go flat.

“You cannot push the limit. It is winter time. It is bad enough that you need tires, but if you do not have an all-season tire or a snow tire in this kind of weather, it is kind of hard to drive,” DeSimone said.

It is a lesson drivers like Brian Waddell, of West Hartford, know all too well.
   
“I came back to a flat tire and I had to drive it down here and manually do it on a Monday morning. It was great, but those are the things that if you are checking your air pressure the right way, you could have avoided, I guess,” he said.

To get the latest forecast, download the NBC Connecticut app.
 

Residents in the town of Oxford voted Thursday on a multimillion dollar tax plan connected to a controversial power plant that is now under construction.

That vote led to some tense moments outside of the Quaker Farms School as residents came out to vote on a proposed tax plan connected to the Towantic energy plant.

Construction on the power plant got the final green light in in 2015.

Residents are voting on a three-part question about tax benefits stemming from the multimillion dollar project. In question is whether to accept a deal that would mean more than $100 million in taxes paid to the town over 22 years.

Supporters, including the town’s first selectman, say the money would be a good thing and would also mean lower taxes for residents.

“It’s not a big encumbrance on the town and it has a tremendous impact in terms of taxes,” First Selectman George Temple said.

“It’s probably the best project in town in terms of securing our future revenue,” Oxford resident Herman Schuler said.

Meanwhile, some opponents say the town is getting a bad deal for the plant they don’t even want built and believe it will lower property values and cause pollution.

“The town fathers, if you will, have put new lipstick on the same old pig and they’re trying it again,” Dave Gliserman, an Oxford resident, said.

“The property around there will be totally devalued. The only thing that will want to go in there is heavy industry,” Marge Polstein, another resident, said.

Voting is taking place at the Quaker Farms School until 8 p.m.

The wife of embattled comedian Bill Cosby will be deposed in a civil suit involving her husband later this month, NBC News reports.

In January, Camille Cosby appealed a ruling ordering her to be deposed by lawyers for seven women accusing Bill Cosby of defamation.

A Massachusetts federal district judge has since ruled that Camille Cosby can, in fact, be deposed, but "may refuse to answer deposition questions which call for testimony prohibited by the marital disqualification rule and not falling within an exception," according to NBC News.

Camille Cosby's deposition is scheduled for Feb. 22 in Springfield, Massachusetts.

It's unclear whether Camille Cosby's attorneys can appeal the latest ruling.