An 87-year-old Willimantic man has been reported missing and a Silver Alert has been issued for him.
John Bennett was reported missing Tuesday.
He is 5-feet-10 and no information was immediately available on what he was wearing.
Connecticut State Police confirmed they are assisting with a search with K9 units.
If you have any information on where he is, call the Willimantic Police Department at 860-465-3135.
The Archdiocese of Washington has released the names of 28 former members of clergy who they say were "credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors" dating back as far as 1948.
The Catholic archdiocese said it assembled the list on the orders of Cardinal Donald Wuerl, who is set to resign next month after a Pennsylvania grand jury report said he allowed priests accused of sexually abusing children to be reassigned or reinstated when he was the bishop of Pittsburgh.
Wuerl said in a statement that there had not been a credible allegation of abuse of a minor by a priest of the archdiocese in almost 20 years, and that no priest in active ministry had ever been accused.
"This list is a painful reminder of the grave sins committed by clergy, the pain inflicted on innocent young people and the harm done to the Church's faithful, for which we continue to seek forgiveness," Wuerl's statement said.
The names of the priests can be found on the archdiocese's website. A number of the members of clergy were convicted of crimes, and many have died.
SNAP, a national network of sexual abuse victims, said they suspect the list is incomplete.
"It's hard to believe that we only had 28," David Lorenz of the organization told News4.
The Pennsylvania grand jury report found that some 300 priests abused more than 1,000 children since the 1940s, and Wuerl is one of a string of bishops in six dioceses the report says covered up for them.
Most of the victims were boys. Some were teens, while others were prepubescent. Several alleged victims were lured with alcohol or pornography. Afterward, they turned to substance abuse and even suicide to escape the lingering trauma.
Wuerl has asked for prayers and forgiveness for what he calls his lapse of judgment in dealing with reports of abuse by priests.
The archbishop recently called for a "Season of Healing," inviting parishes and parishioners to observe six weeks of Friday prayers in recognition of the pain of the victims and the need for healing.
Last month, a man stood in a Mass Wuerl was celebrating in D.C. and yelled "Shame on you" after Wuerl asked parishioners to keep Pope Francis in their prayers.
The Washington Archdiocese urges anyone aware of suspected sexual misconduct to report it to authorities or call the Office of Child Protection and Safe Environment for the Archdiocese of Washington at 301-853-5302.
Sears has released the list of 142 unprofitable stores that will be closing at the end of the year in hopes the company can stay in business. These are in addition to the 46 stores that were previously announced.
According to officials, the Sears stores on Boston Post Road in Milford and Hartford Turnpike in Waterford among those set to close.
Liquidation sales at these stores are expected to begin shortly.
This comes after Sears filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday.
At its peak, the operator of Sears and Kmart had 4,000 stores in 2012, but will now be left with a little more than 500.
Hamden Police have arrested a 17-year-old who is accused of stealing another teenager's cell phone and credit cards at gunpoint on Thursday.
Officers responded to the area of Dixwell Avenue and Woodin Street around 8 p.m. after getting a report of an armed street robbery.
According to investigators, a 17-year-old Hamden resident walked into an alley way with two acquaintances. One of the acquaintances pulled out a black handgun and placed it into his stomach and then stole his cell phone and credit cards. He was then punched in the head and fell to the ground.
First responders were called to the scene and rendered medical assistance.
Shortly after, Hamden Police arrested a 17-year-old Hamden resident. He is facing charges including robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, larceny and conspiracy to commit larceny. He is scheduled to appear in Juvenile Court in New Haven on October 30.
The investigation is ongoing.
In the weeks before a 5-year-old autistic boy died in a hot car outside the family’s Waterford home, his mother made what police called concerning searches on her phone, according to the arrest warrant application.
The arrest warrant for her says the searches police found included “do people cry when they’re dying,” "teen dies in minivan” and “autistic children and reincarnation.”
Police started investigating when Bossleman called 911 at 2:28 p.m. on May 3 to report that her 5-year-old son was missing, police said.
She told officers that she took a nap in her room around 11:30 a.m. or 12:30 p.m. and her son was gone when she woke up around 2 p.m.
Bosselman told investigators that her son, known to his parents as CK, was autistic and non-verbal and had a history of leaving the house and wandering.
Officers who responded to the family’s Maple Avenue home searched inside and outside and found the boy minutes later buckled in a car seat in the back seat of a car that was parked on the property, police said. It was 85 degrees that day and the little boy was unconscious and had no pulse, according to police.
Firefighters and EMS tried to resuscitate the child, but they were not able to and the boy was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police.
On May 7, Waterford Police received an anonymous tip through their website that said, "Whitney Bosselman is a gamer with noise cancelling headphones. Please look at her WoW (World of Warcraft) account/computer for active play around the time of her son's death in case she was gaming and not actually napping," the arrest warrant states.
Police found that Bosselman's WoW account had been logged into 83 times between April 20 and May 3. They also found Bosselman's account sent 273 chat messages between May 2 at 10:53 p.m. and May 3 at 6:03 a.m., according to the warrant.
Within her chat logs for the game were messages Bosselman sent, including "also would like a bunk bed that i could make into a cage thing for him at night," "seriously depressing though to have everything destroyed," and "just tired of poop and scribbles and pee," according to the arrest warrant application.
Police also searched Bossleman’s phone and found a search at 7:01 p.m. on March 28 for “do people cry when they’re dying.” On April 13, there was a search at 7:37 a.m. for "Teen dies in minivan.” Two days later, there was a search for “autistic children and reincarnation,” according to the arrest warrant application.
When investigators went through Bosselman's computers, they found that a story about a father who confessed to killing his 5-year-old autistic son was visited several times in April.
The state Department of Children and Families was also contacted for the investigation and the report on the department’s investigation said Bosselman showed a serious disregard for the boy’s safety by failing to adequately supervise her autistic son, resulting in his death, according to the arrest warrant application.
The report also said the family’s home was deplorable and the children were living in their own filth.
The arrest warrant says officers found used diapers, bags of trash and moldy food on the floor of the home and the inside of the house smelled like urine and excrement.
Officers also noted how there were stains that appeared to be excrement on two mattresses and on the carpet in one bedroom.
In a second bedroom, police said they found moldy yogurt, cereal and pretzels on the floor with clothes and toys. They said the bed sheets has stains, some of which stains appeared to be from food while others were possibly bodily fluids.
Bosselman turned herself in to police Monday, with her attorney present. She appeared in New London Superior Court and pleaded not guilty.
The case was transferred and the next court date is Nov. 6.
The Mega Millions jackpot has surpassed the previous record for the largest prize in the game's history, ballooning to $667 million ahead of Tuesday night's drawing.
The previous all-time record for Mega Millions was $656 million for a drawing on March 30, 2012.
The lucky ticket that matches all six numbers on Tuesday and chooses the lump sum will take home $380 million.
“It’s always a thrill to have both jackpots rolling, but there’s an extra spark now with Mega Millions reaching a new record,” Gordon Medenica, Mega Millions' lead director, said in a release. “Everyone is talking about the jackpot and running out to buy tickets for tonight’s drawing.”
Mega Millions' jackpot has been growing since July, when a group of California office co-workers won $543 million.
Three other Mega Millions jackpots have been won this year – $451 million on January 5 (Florida), $533 million on March 30 (New Jersey), and $142 million on May 4 (Ohio).
It costs $2 to play the game and the odds of matching all six numbers and winning the jackpot is one in 302.5 million.
Mega Millions drawings are held Tuesdays and Fridays at 11 p.m. ET. The game is played in 44 states as well as Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history was a $1.6 billion Powerball jackpot won in January 2016 by players in three states. That would make the estimated jackpot for Tuesday's Mega Millions drawing the third largest overall.
Police are looking to speak with alumni who attended St. Francis Parochial School in Naugatuck in 1965.
Police said they are looking for information about a priest who used to work in Connecticut and was recently arrested outside of the state to see if anyone had any inappropriate contact with him while he was here.
Naugatuck police said there is no crime report here in Connecticut.
Federal agents said Former Catholic Priest Arthur Perrault fled the country amid child sex abuse allegations before his federal arrest in New Mexico last month.
Court papers state that Perrault was accused in 1991 and 1992 of showered victims with gifts and food before abusing them and later fleeing the country to Canada and Morocco.
In 1965, Father Perrault was briefly assigned to the St. Francis Parish in Naugatuck. Joyce Luzio graduated St. Francis prior to Perrault’s arrival in 1965.
“l remember Father Perrault. If he’s the same one you know, but we didn’t have a lot of dealings with him,” Luzio said.
According to a letter from a clinical psychologist at a treatment facility Perrault was sent to in New Mexico in 1966 from Connecticut and obtained by NBC affiliate KOB, the chancery office in Hartford had been contacted.
“... Father Perrault came to the attention of his chancery office because of two alleged incidents of homosexual approaches to some of the young men with whom he was working. From our contacts with the Chancery Office I gather they are convinced that these two incidents did indeed take place.”
The letter goes on to recommend Perrault be considered for permanent assignment at the high school or college level to the Diocese of Santa Fe, adding “we ask that we not condemn him for something which is a normal product of a slightly abnormal situation.”
KOB sued the diocese for Perrault’s records and won. Other documents obtained by KOB indicate Perrault was ordained in Hartford in May of 1964, before he served briefly at the Blessed Sacrament in East Hartford and St. Joseph in New Haven on Yale’s Campus.
Naugatuck police said at this time this is not a criminal investigation but an exploratory mission. Authorities would like to speak with anyone who can “recollect what the atmosphere and the culture of student life was like during this time frame.”
NBC Connecticut reached out to the Archdiocese of Hartford but has not heard back.
Anyone with information should contact Detective Sergeant Mark Pettinicchi at 203-720-2590 with any information.
More than two years before the 2020 election, President Donald Trump has already raised over $100 million for his re-election bid, with almost $47 million still in the bank, NBC News reported.
The Federal Election Committee filings show a historic amount of money that comes from many small-dollar donations as well as large donors, including $250,000 from venture capitalist Peter Thiel.
The campaign spent $7.7 million over the last three months, according to the data. It also donated $2,000 to more than 100 separate Republican candidates nationwide.
By contrast, President Barack Obama had yet to announce his re-election campaign at this point in his presidency and had just $2.3 million in his bank account.
Police are looking for the driver of a van who they said approached two boys at a bus stop in Naugatuck Monday morning, offered them candy and told them they could get into the van to go get it.
Police said they responded to the area of New Street and Hillside Avenue just before 8 a.m. after receiving a report of a suspicious vehicle approaching two boys who were waiting at a bus stop.
One of the boys told them a blue “work style” van with tinted windows that was going west on New Street approached them and he heard what he thought was a deep male voice from inside the driver side of the van ask them if they “wanted candy.” If they did, they could “get into the van and he would bring them to it,” he said, according to police.
The boy could not see the driver because the tinted windows were only partially open.
Both boys fled and immediately reported the incident, police said.
They told police they thought the van had turned north onto Hillside Avenue and Naugatuck police searched the area but did not find the van.
Naugatuck Police are investigating and ask anyone with any information about this incident to call the Naugatuck Police Department at 203-729-5221 or the NPD Confidential Tip Line at 203-720-1010.
They are also urging parents and students to be alert and proactive when students are traveling to and from bus stops and to immediately report any suspicious activity to the Naugatuck Police.
Waterbury police are trying to locate a shooting suspect they say should be considered armed and dangerous.
Police have an arrest warrant charging 27-year-old Marque Nunn with first-degree assault, illegal discharge of a firearm, reckless endangerment, and criminal possession of a firearm and pistol without a permit. Bond is set at $1 million.
The charges stem from a shooting on Sept. 19 on Ridgewood Street, when a 22-year-old woman was shot in the stomach. The victim survived her injuries.
Police said Nunn is considered armed and dangerous and should not be approached. He is known to frequent Waterbury and New Britain.
Anyone with information on Nunn should contact Waterbury police at 203-574-6941.
A New York Uber driver is accused of kidnapping a woman he was supposed to be driving to her home in New York and instead traveling toward Massachusetts before leaving the victim on the side of Interstate 95 in Connecticut.
Harbir Parmar, 24, of Howard Beach, New York, faces federal charges of kidnapping and of wire fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Prosecutors allege that Parmar, while working as driver for Uber on Feb. 21, picked up a woman in Manhattan, and rather than taking her to her desired destination in White Plains, New York, changed her destination in the company’s app to Boston, Mass.
The victim, who fell asleep during the ride, told authorities that she woke up in the car with Parmar in the backseat with her, his hand under her shirt and touching her breast. When the victim woke up, Parmar got back into the driver’s seat and continued the trip. When the victim asked to be taken to White Plains or a police station, Parmar refused and dropped her off on the side of I-95 in Branford, Conn., prosecutors said.
“As alleged, Harbir Parmar was hired to transport a woman from Manhattan to her home in White Plains. Instead, Parmar kidnapped, terrorized, and assaulted the woman before dumping her on the side of an interstate. No one – man or woman – should fear such an attack when they simply hire a car service,” wrote U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman in a statement.
Investigators said that from December 2016 through February 2018, Parmar sent false information about customer destinations at least 11 times. He also sent false information about cleaning fees for his vehicle at least three times. Parmar’s actions led to over $3,600 in improper charges to customers, officials said.
Uber released the following statement on the situation:
"What’s been reported is horrible and something no person should go through. As soon as we became aware, we immediately removed this individual's access to the platform. We have fully cooperated with law enforcement and will continue to support their investigation."
Authorities believe there may be more victims. Anyone with information or a complaint can contact FBI’s Westchester Resident Agency at 914-925-3888.
More than 90 percent of House Democratic candidates in top races outraised their Republican rivals over the past three months as Democrats continue to hold a substantial fundraising edge with less than a month to go before Election Day.
New fundraising figures filed with the Federal Election Commission show that Democratic candidates more than doubled Republican fundraising in the 108 districts considered the most competitive by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. In some cases, challengers outraised Republican incumbents by a factor of three or more, NBC News reported.
Fundraising success is far from a direct predictor of electoral success — some Democratic candidates in high-profile special elections earlier this cycle fell short despite their cash advantages. And some of these Republican incumbents are still in strong shape despite their fundraising deficits.
USA Gymnastics interim president and CEO Mary Bono has quickly stepped down — spending just a weekend on the job — following criticism by two Olympic gold medal winners.
Part of the backlash against Bono was over an anti-Nike tweet she posted last month aimed at former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, NBC News reported.
Bono released a statement on Tuesday announcing her departure, writing that in the wake of her tweet she had experienced personal attacks that "left undefended, would have made my leading USAG a liability for the organization."
#Permit Patty. #BBQ Betty. #Cornerstore Caroline. A series of videos posted on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube this year show black people being badgered by white people as they swim, barbecue, babysit or engage in other everyday activities. The widely shared confrontations, often with alliterative hashtags, drew enormous audiences for what might have once been private disputes. Here are some of the #LivingWhileBlack encounters that have gone viral and what happened as a result:
#Cornerstore Caroline
A white woman accused a 9-year-old black boy of grabbing her backside in a Brooklyn deli on Oct. 10 but two days later, after watching surveillance videotape, admitted that the boy had accidently brushed up against her possibly with his bag. "Young man, I don’t know your name, but I’m sorry," she said.
Blocked at the Door
A white neighbor tried to block a black man from entering his loft in downtown St. Louis on Oct. 12, asking him which unit he lived in and following him to his apartment. D'Arreion Nuriyah Toles told her that he had already entered the building. Police later arrived at his door. The woman was fired by her employer, Tribeca-STL Management, a property management company and Toles told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he was looking into his legal options.
#PermitPatty
A white woman, Alison Ettel, threatened to call police about an 8-year-old black girl selling bottled water without a permit in San Francisco in June. Ettel said that the girl, Jordan Rodgers, was being too loud. Rodgers’ mother countered that Ettel never asked Jordan to be quieter, and instead immediately demanded to see a permit. Afterward Ettel stepped down as the chief executive of TreatWell, a California company that produces cannabis-based tinctures and edibles, saying in a statement that the company, its patients and employees, “should not have to suffer because of a situation that occurred in an escalated moment.”
#BBQBecky
In April, a white woman called police to complain about black residents barbecuing at Lake Merritt Park in Oakland. The woman referred to the danger posed by their charcoal grill, which was not permitted at that spot. The black residents, among them Kenzie Smith, said that she threatened them with jail. A “BBQing While Black” cookout followed, Smith was nominated for a position of the city’s Park and Recreation Advisory Committee and in July he announced a campaign to run for Oakland City Council.
Sitting in #Starbucks
Two 23-year-old men were led out of a Philadelphia Starbucks in handcuffs in April because they had not ordered anything while they waited for a business partner to arrive for a meeting. A manager had called the police. The men, Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson, reached a financial settlement with Starbucks for an undisclosed sum and an offer of a free college education. Starbucks closed its more than 8,000 company-owned coffee shops in the United States and its corporate offices for racial-bias training on the afternoon of May 29.
#SwimmingSheriffSusie
Shane Holland was asked to leave a pool at his own apartment complex in Indiana in July after he showed his key to an off-duty police officer who was providing security at the pool but refused to give her his address. An apartment manager confirmed Holland was a resident but asked him to leave because he had not answered the off-duty officer’s question. The manager was put on administrative leave.
—
Accusations of profiling at swimming pools recurred throughout the summer.
Swimming With Socks
On the Fourth of July, a manager of another apartment complex, this one in Memphis, demanded that a black man take off his socks while he dipped his feet in the pool. Kevin Yates refused — he said the ground was hot — and the manager, Erica Walker, called police. Yates' girlfriend, Camry Porter, said that white people who were wearing shirts or hats were not asked to remove them. Walker was fired.
#IDAdam
Also on the Fourth of July, a white man called police after a black woman would not show him her identification at a community pool in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The woman, Jazmine Abhulimen, was at the pool with her son when Adam Bloom, the pool chairman of the Glenridge Homeowners Association, asked for her ID. Abhulimen had a key card that allowed her into the pool. Bloom was fired from his job at Sonoco, an international packaging firm, and resigned as pool chairman and from the association’s board.
#PoolPatrolPaula. A white woman from Summerville, South Carolina, hit a 15-year-old at a neighborhood pool and was charged with third-degree assault. Stephanie Sebby-Strempel told the teenager and his friends to leave. She was fired from her job as a consultant at skin care company Rodan + Fields.
Eating Lunch at Smith
An employee at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, called campus police on a black student who was eating her lunch in a common area while on break from her on-campus summer job in July. The employee said Oumou Kanoute seemed out of place. Smith placed the employee on leave and ordered an external investigation of the incident. The college’s president apologized to Kanoute, who says she felt humiliated and who wants an apology from the employee whom Smith declined to identify.
Leaving an Airbnb
A neighbor called police and reported a possible burglary as four people left an Airbnb in Rialto, California, in April. Three of the four were black and one was a filmmaker and granddaughter of Bob Marley. "The officers came out of their cars demanding us to put our hands in the air," another guest, filmmaker, Kelly Fyffe-Marshall, posted on Instagram. "They informed us that there was also a helicopter tracking us." They sued The Rialto Police Department, saying they had been treated unfairly. The police department says its officer treated the group with dignity and respect.
Black Women Golfing
Five black women golfing in Dover Township in York County, a largely white suburb in Pennsylvania, in April were approached by a former county commissioner whose son owns the Grandview Golf Club and told they were playing too slowly. They were asked to leave and threatened with the cancellation of their memberships. Golfers behind the women told The Daily Record that the women had kept up the pace. Police arrived but left quickly and the state Human Rights Commission later held hearings.
Babysitting in Georgia
A woman called police on a black man babysitting two white children in Marietta, Georgia, after the man, Corey Lewis, refused to left her speak to the children. He had taken the children to a Walmart, then a gas station, when the woman followed them. Lewis runs a child care and mentoring business called Inspired By Lewis. The police officer questioned the children and called their parents.
A "Suspicious Person"
An Oregon state lawmaker was reported to police as a “suspicious person” while she was canvassing constituents’ homes in Portland in July. A sheriff’s deputy told Janelle Bynum that a caller said she appeared to casing the neighborhood for unoccupied houses that could be burglarized. When the deputy called the caller, she apologized to Bynum.
Napping While Black
A black graduate student at Yale University, Lolade Siyonbola, who took a nap in a common room while working on papers, was awakened by a white student whom she said told her she was not supposed to sleep there. The white student called campus police. A Yale vice president called the May episode "troubling" and promised listening sessions with students.
Rep. Elizabeth Esty said she plans to deal with her roughly $1 million campaign account balance after she leaves office next year.
"That frankly was advice I got from former members to say, 'listen, you need to focus on doing your job right now, and there will be plenty of time to figure that out when you are not in office.'"
Esty currently has $942,320 left in her campaign account, and has issued $385,133 in refunds.
The moves came after Esty announced she would need reelection to a fourth term in the wake of allegations of abuse in her office. She decided to retire after her handling of those allegations became public.
She said she plans to direct the money toward causes and groups she supports, but would not rule out some kind of a political use for the funds.
"At the end of my term I’m going to look at what to do and I’m getting lots of inquiries," Esty said. "There are a lot of causes I feel strongly about and gun violence is one of them. Actually, mental health issues and having a chance to really be deliberate and think about that."
Some Democrats, like Alfonso Robinson who lives in Esty’s district in the City of Danbury, don’t like seeing the three-term congressman drag her feet when it comes to using those funds.
"It should be about the whole Democratic party holding this president accountable and it makes it a little difficult when we have people like Elizabeth Esty using this money for her own purposes as opposed to doing what’s right for the party in general."
Esty could transfer the money to political action committees, which would directly support other candidates. She could also make donations to charities.
Jahana Hayes, the Democrat running to replace Esty has been fundraising at a torrid pace, especially compared to her opponent, Republican Manny Santos.
Hayes has so far raised $1.28 million, with $800,000 coming during the most recent fundraising period. Santos, on the other hand, has raised a total of $25,000 in his bid to flip the seat, and currently has $1,600 left in his campaign account.
Esty would not rule out support for Hayes, but said she has made it a point to not be involved in the race for her old seat.
"I have stayed out of that particular race but Jahana I’ve known for a long time and I have been in contact with her."
When asked whether Esty would plan to hold on to that cash for a future congressional run, she said, "I am definitely not running."
The body of a baby boy was found at City Carting and Recycling, a trash and recycling facility in Stamford, Tuesday morning and police are investigating.
Police said workers at the facility located at 61 Taylor Reed Place found the body of a full-term newborn baby boy at 8:40 a.m. as they were working on recycling and immediately notified authorities, according to police.
Stamford police are at the scene.
They said the company is a regional organization and it will take time to determine which community the baby came from. Authorities say the companies that dropped off materials for processing Tuesday morning operate in Greenwich, Conn., Stamford, Conn. Somers, New York, the Oyster Bay area of Long Island, New York, and Andover, Mass.
Connecticut has a safe havens act for newborns, which allows a parent to voluntarily give up an infant who is up to 30 days old to the nursing staff of an emergency room and not be subject to arrest for abandonment.
No additional information was immediately available. Check back for updates.
Two Bulkeley High School students were taken to the hospital after eating a marijuana-laced brownie Tuesday, according to Hartford school officials.
The two girls left school early with permission and ate the brownie off school property, according to school spokesperson John Fergus. After ingesting it, the girls called an ambulance and were taken to Connecticut Children’s Medical Center for evaluation.
School officials said it is not clear where the girls got the brownie.
The case remains under investigation.
This is the second incident involving edibles laced with drugs connected to the school this week. A student was sent to the hospital Monday after consuming what police called an “edible narcotic” at school. In that case, the student was given the narcotic by another student, who has since been suspended.
Waterbury police have secured arrest warrants for three suspected gang members in connection with a double homicide in November.
Tahjay Love, 20, Zaekwon McDaniel, 20, and Gabriel Pulliam, 24, are all accused in the deaths of Clarence Lewis and Antonia Santos on Wolcott Street on Nov. 22, 2017.
Love and McDaniel, who were already incarcerated on unrelated charges, are each charged with two counts of murder and two counts of conspiracy to commit murder.
Pulliam is charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit murder. He was arrested in Manchester on Tuesday.
Police said all three are suspected 960 gang members.
There was an international buzz in East Hartford Tuesday night as soccer fans headed to Rentschler Field as the U.S. men took on Peru.
For many it was a chance to see their favorite team from thousands of miles away. This was an exhibition game or friendly as the soccer world calls it, but the game’s status made little difference to the thousands of fans who were excited to be there in person for this rare matchup.
This was just the third time the two teams have faced off since 2000.
Many Peru fans were thrilled at the chance to see the team from their native country thousands of miles away.
“It’s total excitement. From my house to here is five minutes. So what else could I want? You know? They came super close to me,” said Maggie Villegas of East Hartford.
“We came to see our team, our country’s soccer team. We hope they win,” said Jimmy Contreas of Hartford.
While Peru seemed to win in numbers, USA fans held strong.
The turnout and the enthusiasm are proof fans say of soccer’s growing popularity in the area.
“The more that we do this stuff up here the better. We’ve got a great crowd no doubt,” said Dave Blumes of New Britain.
In the end, the U.S. and Peru tied 1-1.
