Milardo Lane in Middletown turned into swarm of local, state and federal authorities Thursday after officials say a resident of the street slammed his car through the emergency doors of Middlesex Hospital then set himself on fire.

Authorities set out to search 27-year-old Steven Ellam’s home after he was identified as a suspect. Neighbor Lou DiMauro says he’s never seen police at the home. Authorities said in a news conference though they will be reviewing Ellam’s lengthy criminal history which dates back to when he was 14 years old.

“That is one of our regular customers who would come in several times a week, just get a coffee. Usually a quiet person, in and out real quick. It was kind of surprising,” Mike Lavoie said.

Lavoie, manager of Klekolo World Coffee, was unaware of Ellam’s criminal history and surprised to learn he was the man who caused the incident at the hospital Thursday.

“I had no idea. He used to come in and collect grounds, I guess he was doing work with a farm. He seemed like a normal person. I mean if you’re working for a farm I assume you’re more of a mellow path chill person,” Lavoie said.

For Bill Wilson, worlds collided Thursday. His sister, a Middlesex Hospital nurse was there during the crash. Wilson was later surprised to learn Ellam lives down the street from a friend’s house he was checking on.

“You just don’t expect this. I mean I never expected anything like this. Waking up to this and seeing everything that’s going on. What possesses someone to do this is beyond me. It’s very sad,” Bill Wilson said.

Officials said are still trying to figure out Ellam’s motive behind his actions Thursday. Ellam was airlifted to Bridgeport Hospital after the incident, where he remains in critical condition.

Hartford police have arrested a New Britain woman accused of bringing heroin to her boyfriend while he was a patient at Saint Francis Hospital.

According to police, 22-year-old Angelica Cierniewski brought heroin to her boyfriend when she went to visit him at the hospital. When her boyfriend took the drug, he overdosed.

Hospital staff used Narcan to revive the patient. He is still receiving treatment for his original problem and was listed in stable condition.

Police said Cierniewski admitted to bringing the heroin, then discarding the evidence. She was arrested and charged with reckless endangerment and tampering with evidence.

The winter sports world turn upside down Thursday, at least in Canada, after the United States beat its neighbor to the north in two of its most beloved sports.

It happened to be Team USA's best day so far at the 2018 Winter Games. U.S. athletes won five medals in one day, their biggest haul so far at the Games. But the two upsets on ice were likely the sweetest back home in the States.

First, the U.S. women's hockey team came from behind to beat Canada in a shootout, winning its first gold medal since 1998. Hours later, the American men's curlers booked their own trip to a gold medal match at Canada's expense. Whether it's silver or gold, the U.S. will come away with its best ever Olympic curling accomplishment.

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The American victories ended two streaks of sustained excellence for Canada, where ice hockey is a way of life and curling is more than the curiosity it is in the U.S. Team Canada has only ever won gold or silver in women's hockey (which had won the last four gold medals) and men's curling (which had won the last three gold medals).

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The loss didn't go over well with at least one member of the Canadian hockey team, who was so unhappy with her silver medal she yanked it off her neck before the next player even got hers.

"We are going for gold," Jocelyne Larocque said afterward. "We are chasing a gold medal."

But the victory was sweet for the Americans, whose only other gold medal came 16 years ago and lost three other gold medal games, all to Canada. It was even sweeter coming on the 38th anniversary of the "Miracle on Ice" game that the men won over the Soviet Union in 1980.

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People on Twitter were quick to remark about how shocking the two successive upsets were.

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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was nothing but supportive in his response, recording a video with one of the legendary women's hockey players from his country, Hayley Wickenheiser, that she posted soon after the game ended early Thursday morning in the U.S. and Canada.

"We just watched the game, on the edge of our seats the whole way through," Trudeau said. "You played amazing. It's a terrible way to lose, in a shootout, but we're with you, we support you, we send you huge hugs."

He added, "Gold in four years!"

President Donald Trump tweeted a video of the hockey team singing the national anthem as the medal-winning countries' flags were hoisted to the rafters. "On behalf of an entire Nation, CONGRATULATIONS to the U.S. Women's Hockey Team on winning the GOLD! #GoTeamUSA #Olympics," he wrote.

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Team USA is in the middle of a late burst of Olympic victories that has it sneaking up on Canada in the medal rankings, thanks in large part to the women on the team.

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Thursday brought the women's hockey gold medal along with gold and silver in men's ski halfpipe (David Wise, Alex Ferreira), silver in the Alpine combined (Mikaela Shiffrin) and silver in the women's big air snowboarding (Jamie Anderson).

The U.S. now has 21 medals at the Olympics, sitting in fourth place in the standings behind Canada's 24.

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With just three days of medals left, it'll still be tough for the U.S. to catch up, but it's not impossible. For one thing, the U.S. is guaranteed a medal in curling, while Canada can still miss out on bronze.

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Governor Dan Malloy did not hold back when he was asked about the National Rifle Association Executive Vice President’s comments on how to prevent future mass shootings.

“Wayne LaPierre, quite frankly, doesn’t care how many people die as long as guns get sold,” Connecticut’s second term governor said.

LaPierre, the longtime head of the nation’s largest gun rights group, spoke during the Conservative Political Action Committee’s annual meeting in Washington DC, commonly referred to as CPAC.

They were his first comments since a gunman opened fire in a Parkland, Florida high school, killing seventeen students and staff.

LaPierre laid the blame for the shooting not on access to firearms, but instead said, “They want to sweep right under the carpet the failure of school security, the failure of family, the failure of America's mental health system and even the unbelievable failure of the FBI.”

Malloy has been a staunch advocate for more strict gun controls since the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December 2012.

The governor said the NRA has a predictable line of attack in the aftermath of a mass shooting, saying the group is far more concerned with gunmaker profits and sales than the lives of innocent civilians.

“He’s reopened the NRA emergency book to understand how you deflect a serious discussion about making Americans safer,” Malloy said.

LaPierre advocated for more armed school security guards. School security were on the premises on the day of the Parkland shooting, but the shooter managed to enter the school before being intercepted, and he later escaped undetected in a crowd of people evacuating.

LaPierre told the Washington DC crowd that “hardening” soft targets like schools was the only way to make them safer, and said, “To stop a bad guy with a gun it takes a good guy with a gun.”

Malloy said the NRA has made it clear that they want everyone to have weapons at all times.

“You know what the NRA would say? Let’s everyone have a gun, everywhere they are and we’ll all be safer. You think Syria is safer right now? You think Iraq is safer right now?”

Roberto Luongo, a Florida Panthers player who is a resident of Parkland, delivered a heartfelt, emotional speech Thursday in which he expressed his sadness for what occurred in the school tragedy and his hope for the future led by survivors.

"I live in Parkland. I've been living there for the last 12 years. My wife was born and raised in that area. My kids go to school in Parkland. When I'm done playing hockey, I want to spend the rest of my life in Parkland," Luongo said amid roaring applause. "I love that city."

Luongo described his experience on Feb. 14 – the day 17 people, mostly students, were gunned down at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

He was in Vancouver that day.

"It was hard for me to be on the West Coast and not be able to get back home and protect my family. No child should ever have to go through that. It's terrible. It's time for us, as a community, to take action. It's enough – enough is enough. We got to take action," Luongo said, receiving more deafening applause.

He shared his condolences to the families of the victims.

"We're there for you," Luongo said, speaking on behalf of the Florida Panthers.

He described the school's teachers in one word: "heroes."

"Some of them didn't make it trying to protect children and that is truly what a hero is and those people need to be put on a pedestal," Luongo said.

The goaltender also spoke about the surviving victims from Stoneman Douglas, dozens of whom are taking action to push for gun reform.

The goal of the students is to assure their experience never happens again.

"I am very very proud of you guys. You guys are brave. You guys are an inspiration to all of us, and at the end of the day you guys are what's giving us hope for the future," Luongo said.

After such a draining week and emotional event commemorating the lives lost, the Panthers earned a much-deserved victory.

Vincent Trocheck of the Panthers scored the winning goal of the game with just 19.1 seconds left in the 3-1 win over the Washington Capitals.

Madison residents are trying to decide what to do about a long-vacant old school house, and that decision may come down to a town referendum.

The Academy School was closed down in 2004, and the property was transferred to the town of Madison in 2011.

Residents voiced their opinions about the future of the school at a town meeting, as the Board of Selectmen considers several proposals that could bring new housing to the site on Academy Road.

Some residents say they’d like to see the property remain in the town’s possession, and they’re concerned about losing the recreational space on the school’s fields.

"I think this board of selectman wants to find a resolution to the issue right now during their terms and finally put this to bed. I however think they’re rushing this process and that they should look at other town properties," said resident Catherine Ferrante.

The first selectman said the decision will likely come down to the voters.

"My choice is that it does go to referendum so then the town will have a chance to say yes or no," said First Selectman Thomas Banisch.

Banisch said the referendum could happen as early as May.

For more information, click here.

Hartford officially has a new top cop and it marks a milestone for the force.

On Thursday David Rosado was sworn in as the city’s first Latino police chief.

Rosado was born in Hartford, graduated from UConn, and rose through the ranks of law enforcement, most recently serving as a lieutenant colonel with State Police. The ceremony was held at his alma mater, Bulkeley High School.

“If you can succeed here, you can succeed anywhere. So to those young kids growing up in our city today, I say to you, ‘Si tu puedes,’” Rosado said in his speech.

That translates to “Yes you can.”

Rosado promises to work with the community and to bolster the department’s ranks to help with staffing issues. The city’s 23rd police chief faces tough challenges including recent serious problems involving stolen cars.

Authorities are searching for answers after a 27-year-old Middletown man rammed a car into the Middlesex Hospital emergency room, then set himself on fire, while those who know him struggle to understand what happened.

Thursday night at the hospital the area of the crash remained blocked off with yellow tape.

Middletown Mayor Dan Drew told NBC Connecticut that the suspect, Steven Ellam, recorded this entire incident on Facebook live, and while Facebook has removed the original, the video is spreading across social media.

NBC Connecticut has seen the video. In it, Ellam refers to the Illuminati, President Trump, and calls himself Jesus Christ.

Those who know Ellam were shocked by the news.

“I found out who it was and that was absolutely devastating,” said Portland resident Jennifer Shafer.

When Shafer met Ellam, she said he came across as a kind, passionate aspiring musician.

“Nothing unusual or that he was just a young artist who wanted to get his music out there and was very polite and nice actually,” Shafer said.

Ellam was a guest on Shafer’s radio show “Voice of the City” on WESU last year. Shafer said every interaction she had with Ellam was positive, and when she heard of the incident at Middlesex Hospital, it never occurred to her that Ellam could be the person responsible.

“I just thought wow what a tragedy. What happened?” she said.

The owner of the local pizza shop told NBC Connecticut that Ellam worked there for nine months, was a good employee, worked hard, and quit Wednesday with no explanation.

At a local coffee shop, manager Mike LaVoie referred to Ellam as a regular.

“He'd come in several times a week, just get a coffee, usually a quiet person, in and out real quick,” Lavoie said.

As investigators continue to dive into Ellam’s past and his possible motivation, those who knew him are left wondering why.

“I just think it's really heartbreaking my heart goes out to his family and to him and I hope he makes it,” Shafer said.

Authorities said Ellam has an extensive criminal history dating back to when he was a teenager, and that there is no known connection between him at the hospital.

The hospital’s emergency department will remain closed until further notice.

For more information on this story, click here.

Nikolas Cruz had three encounters with police in just over three weeks when he briefly lived in Palm Beach County in November 2017 following the death of his mother.

Nikolas Cruz had three encounters with police in just over three weeks when he briefly lived in Palm Beach County in November 2017 following the death of his mother, according to the 911 calls released Thursday.

In one call, Cruz can be heard telling a dispatcher about his mother’s death. "I lost my mother a couple days ago and I’m dealing with some things right now," Cruz said.

Cruz had called 911 to tell his version of a fight he’d been in with the son of a woman who had taken him in since his mother Lynda Cruz’s Nov. 1 death.

“I kind of got mad and started punching walls,” Cruz told the dispatcher.

But Palm Beach County Sheriff’s dispatchers had already heard about what happened inside a trailer in the 6400 block of Easter Cay Way in Lantana.

The home’s owner, Rocxanne Deschamps, had called to report what had happened.

She explained that her son stepped in to try to stop Cruz from damaging the home when punches were thrown.

The police report of the incident in the afternoon on Nov. 29 says Cruz punched Deschamps and got punched back before he was told to leave the home to calm down.

In the 911 call, Deschamps describes her fear that Cruz would return with a gun. She said he had just recently purchased one from a nearby sporting goods store and that it was ready to be picked up.

"That's all he wants is his gun and that's all he cares about is his gun. He bought tons of bullets and I took them away from him," Deschamps explained.

The police report says Deschamps didn’t want Cruz arrested and that the two hugged to "reconcile their differences."

But it wasn’t the first time police were called to the home concerning Cruz. Deschamps had called police a few days earlier to alert them that he was afraid Cruz had buried a gun in the backyard.

“I told him the rules are there are no weapons on my property, no guns, I don’t want any of that,” Deschamps told police. “I’m positive that he hid a 9mm carbine in the back.”

Deschamps told police Cruz was working at the time and that he wanted them to find the gun before Cruz returned from work.

“I’m honestly afraid for my mother, my little brother,” she said.

The records provided by police don’t indicate if a gun was recovered.

A third call to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office in November 2017 came from a Douglas High School social worker.

She told the dispatcher she wanted someone to check on the boys because their mother had just died.

The social worker explained Cruz’s younger brother, Zachary, had been going to Douglas High but quit going when his mother died.

She wanted to make sure that he was checked on to make sure he was okay and going to school.

Zachary, now 18, continued to stay with Deschamps even when Nikolas left to stay with a school friend in Broward County.

Cruz was staying at the Pompano Beach home with the Snead family and there are no reports of calls to police during his time there.

On Feb. 14, Cruz is accused of using an AR-15 to open fire inside Douglas High School and killing 17 people.

Deschamps has filed to be the administrator for the estate of Lynda Cruz, the boy’s adoptive mother. She asked a court to appoint her to the role since she is caring for Zachary.

NBC 6 has found no record of an official guardianship filed over who should care for the boys.

But we have learned that Lynda Cruz did not have a will when she died.

When the boy’s adoptive father Roger Cruz died, court records show he left a trust for the family. But how much money exists is unknown.

Deschamps, as well as the Broward County Public Defender’s Office, want to find out what inheritance is awaiting the two teens.

Cruz reportedly told the Snead family that he was expecting to inherit hundreds of thousands of dollars when he turned 22.

If Nikolas Cruz has money that could be available to him, he may not be able to use the taxpayer-funded services of the public defender’s office or he may need to reimburse any money spent in his defense. 

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services no longer uses language that describes the country as “a nation of immigrants" in its official mission statement, an agency official said Thursday, NBC News reported.

The USCIS, the federal agency tasked with granting visas and citizenship, has changed to a new statement that “clearly defines the agency’s role in our country’s lawful immigration system and the commitment we have to the American people,” according to a letter sent to employees by agency director L. Francis Cissna that was obtained by NBC News.

The previous mission statement said the agency, “secures America’s promise as a nation of immigrants by providing accurate and useful information to our customers, granting immigration and citizenship benefits, promoting an awareness and understanding of citizenship, and ensuring the integrity of our immigration system.”

The new statement now reads:

"U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services administers the nation’s lawful immigration system, safeguarding its integrity and promise by efficiently and fairly adjudicating requests for immigration benefits while protecting Americans, securing the homeland, and honoring our values."

Police said they are looking for at least two people after a crash near the intersection of Fern Street and Prospect Avenue on the Hartford-West Hartford line early Friday morning. 

Police said a car rolled over on the Hartford side of the intersection and the people who were inside the vehicle ran off. It's not clear what led to the crash. 

West Hartford police said a state police K9 is assisting in the search.

Russian women compete in a stunning figure-skating finale, Canada scores in ski cross and the Netherlands skates to dominance — as the 2018 Winter Olympics enter their last exciting days. Here are the Pyeongchang Games by the numbers.

1 Figure skater Alina Zagitova edged teammate Evgenia Medvedeva to become the first gold medalist of the Pyeongchang Games for the Olympic Athletes from Russia. Her winning score: 239.57 points. Medvedeva skated as Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina for a silver-medal score of 238.26 points. Canada’s Kaetlyn Osmond won the bronze.

The Russians have collected 14 medals in these Games, five of them silver and eight of them bronze. Russia was barred from competing as a nation due to a state-sponsored doping scandal. 

15 Alina Zagitova at 15 has become the second-youngest Olympic women’s figure-skating gold medalist. Zagitova is second only to Tara Lipinski, who was a few weeks younger when she beat Michelle Kwan for the gold at the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano. And when Zagitova and Medvedeva won gold and silver on Friday (Thursday night in the United States), it was the first time two women from the same country had finished one-two in women’s figure skating since Lipinski and Kwan.

156.65 — Alina Zagitova and Evgenia Medvedeva completed the women’s free skate with the exact same score: 156.65. Zagitova’s better short program kept gold-medal favorite Medvedeva at silver.

5 — Canada added two more medals in the women’s ski cross, with gold and silver-medal finishes from Kelsey Serwa and Brittany Phelan. That brings Canada’s total number of medals in ski cross to five, the most of any country in the event.

7 The Netherlands has won the gold medal in seven of the 12 speedskating events so far. It has failed to reach the podium in just two of those events — the men's and women's 500 meters. The latest victory: Kjeld Nuis in the men’s 1,000 meter with a time of 1 minute 7.95 seconds. The best American finisher was Joey Mantia at fourth. The world record of 1 minute 6.42 seconds, set by American Shani Davis in Salt Lake City in 2009, stands, but Davis finished seventh.

After helping Team USA to win a historic gold medal in cross-country skiing, Jessie Diggins will bear the U.S. flag at the closing ceremony in Pyeongchang Sunday.

Fellow Team USA members voted for Diggins to represent them at the ceremony. Appearing on the Today show Friday morning, Diggins said being the one to carry her country's flag is "absolute icing on the cake" to her 2018 Olympic run.

"Having them vote for me was ... I really don't know what to say except thank you so much," Diggins said. "It's been overwhelming in the very best way. It's really been a dream come true."

Diggins and her teammate Kikkan Randall won America's first ever women's cross-country gold medal, and Team USA's first medal in the sport since 1976. Diggins powered through her finish, outlasted Sweden and captured the Olympic title by 0.19 seconds

"I can't be more proud of my team," Diggins said on "Today." "The fact that we're able to bring this gold medal home together is an amazing experience."

Diggins also posted four top-six finished in the 2018 Games.

Sabrina Wanjiku Simader finished 38th out of 44 in the women’s super-G in the Pyeongchang Games but the 19-year-old made the record books — as the first Alpine skier from Kenya to compete in a Winter Games.

Simader follows Philip Boit, a cross-country skier who debuted at the 1998 Games in Nagano and who until now was the only Kenyan represented in the Winter Olympics.

“Today I finished my super-G race with the 38 position and I enjoyed it so much!” Simader wrote on Facebook.

While Boit grew up in Kenya and took up skiing after running, Simader moved to Austria as a 3-year-old when her mother, Sarah, married an Austrian. Her step-father, Josef, who operated his own ski lift, encouraged her to ski.

“I learned it there and I fell in love — not at the beginning, but afterwards,” she told Reuters. At first she thought skiing too cold.

Her skiing heroes, according to her Olympic profile, are Boit and U.S. Alpine skier Lindsey Vonn, who won a bronze medal in the women’s downhill in what was likely her last Olympics. Simader has a new inspiration too, Czech skier Ester Ledecka, the surprise winner of the super-G, who beat the defending champion, Austria’s Anna Veith.

“It was so cool and so emotional, also for me, because I mean — a Czech girl wins the Olympics, and nobody expected that before,” she told reporters, according to Reuters. “I hope I can also surprise some other people in the next race.”

Simader also skied the women’s giant slalom but did not finish.

“Thank you for all your wishes for my Giant Slalom race, unfortunately it wasn’t really my day,” she wrote on Facebook. “But that‘s [what] sport is about... sometimes you win and sometimes you fail. Luckily I didn’t hurt so much…!”

According to Reuters, she raised money for her equipment, training and travel to Pyeongchang through crowd sourcing. The decision to represent Kenya was easy, said Simader, who filled Kenya’s single Alpine skiing spot.

“I never want to leave my motherland,” she said, according to her Olympic profile. “It was my step-father's dream to have a Kenyan [in the Winter Olympics]. And mine, too. Kenyans are really impressed. They have been really supportive and that gives me power."

As for Boit, he was afraid Kenya’s participation in the Winter Games might end with him.

“When I see Sabrina skiing it makes me very happy,” he told Reuters. “Now I say to her, lift the sport of skiing in Kenya higher than where I lifted it.”

A 13-year-old boy has been charged with breach of peace after a police investigation into a threatening statement at Lewis Mills High School in Burlington.

Police said troopers responded to the school on Tuesday and learned that a parent had recently learned about comments made several weeks earlier, but reported it in the wake of recent events.

Investigators determined that no students or faculty were in danger.

Police obtained a warrant and the teen was charged with breach of peace. The boy turned himself in and will appear in juvenile court in New Britain.

Former campaign aide Rick Gates pleaded guilty Friday to conspiracy and making a false statement, becoming the third associate of President Donald Trump to make a deal with special counsel Robert Mueller, NBC News reported.

The plea turns up the pressure on Paul Manafort, a close business associate of Gates who was the chairman of the Trump campaign. The two were indicted in October on conspiracy and other charges related to their lobbying work in Ukraine.

A criminal information filed ahead of the plea hearing says that between 2006 and 2007, Gates and others "conspired to defraud the United States by impeding impairing, obstructing, and defeating the lawful governmental functions of a government agency, namely the Department of Justice and the Department of the Treasury."

In addition, he admits he lied about a March 19, 2013, meeting attended by Manafort, a lobbyist, and Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, and that he falsely denied that Ukraine was discussed and that he was preparing a report for Ukraine's leadership.

Hours after NRA chief Wayne LaPierre delivered his first remarks following the shootings in Florida, President Donald Trump used similar language in talking about what should be done.

The man who officials said crashed into the emergency department of Middlesex Hospital in Middletown Thursday and set himself on fire remains in critical condition, the hospital emergency department remains closed 24 hours after the incident and the mayor said there will be an increased police presence in the city. 

Steven Ellam, 27, of Middletown, crashed his car into the entrance of the emergency department just before 10 a.m. Thursday and set himself on fire as he documented the ordeal on Facebook Live, according to officials. 

Earlier in the day, Ellam had quit his job at Illiano’s without giving an explanation. 

He has no known connection to the hospital, but officials said he has an extensive criminal history that goes back to when he was 14 years old. 

Ellam suffered serious burns and is hospitalized at Bridgeport Hospital, where he remains in critical condition. 

Middletown Mayor Dan Drew said city officials believe what happened Thursday was an isolated incident. 

“The people of Middletown can go about their lives without worrying that there’s any additional threat here,” Drew said. 

While investigating, police went to Ellam’s home Thursday but have not said what they found, if anything. 

The building department is working with Middlesex Hospital to help get the emergency room up and running. It’s not clear when that will happen. 

“In the meantime, any patient that has a medical emergency should call 911. And if they want to take themselves to a walk-in facility or another emergency room, they should go somewhere other than Middlesex (Hospital),” Drew said.