A Cape Cod beach was temporarily closed to swimming Thursday after a shark was seen feeding just 70 feet from the shore.

The sighting was reported off Coast Guard Road in North Truro, where blood was seen on the water. A witnesses saw a seal, a fin and an "eruption of blood" in the water, according to the Sharktivity app.

As a result of the sighting, the Head of the Meadow beach was closed until 11:30 a.m.

It was the second time in as many days the beach was temporarily closed to swimming due to sharks.

Researchers on Cape Cod launched a new study last month focused on the hunting and feeding habits of the region's great white sharks following last year's two attacks on humans, including the state's first fatal one in more than 80 years. They hope the work contributes critical information to the ongoing debate over how to keep Cape beachgoers safe.

One Massachusetts citizens group is calling for eliminating federal protections on seals, which have been blamed for drawing an increased number of great white sharks to the region in recent years.

A convicted sex offender is accused of sexually assaulting a child in Stratford after meeting the victim on Snapchat and police are warning parents to monitor their children’s social media accounts.

Police started investigating on Tuesday when they received a report of a preteen being sexually assaulted and determined that the child met the suspect through Snapchat.

The man created fake profiles on several social media applications and, using the fake profile, lured the preteen from a residence, according to police.

Authorities identified the suspect as 34-year-old Reginald Sharp, of Bridgeport, and said he is a convicted sex offender who is on the sex offender registry.

Police found Sharp late Tuesday night and he has been charged with sexual assault in the first degree, enticing a minor using a computer and risk of injury to a minor. 

He is being held on a $2 million bond. 

Authorities urge parents to closely monitor their children’s social media accounts on a regular basis.

Police ask anyone with additional information about Sharp to call the Stratford Police Department Detective Bureau at 203-385-2098 or can text 203-726-0275 24/7.

When President Donald Trump took the stage Tuesday at the Teen Action Summit in Washington, D.C., an image of what appeared to be the presidential seal was projected on the screen behind him. But, upon closer inspection, many noted that the bald eagle on the seal was doctored and bore a striking resemblance to the one on Russia's coat of arms.

The official presidential seal of the president of the United States features a bald eagle clutching an olive branch in its right talon, a symbol of peace, and holding 13 arrows in its right talon, representing the 13 original colonies. In its beak, the eagle holds a ribbon with the Latin words "E Pluribus Unum," which means "out of many, one."

But the crest that appeared behind Trump at the event hosted by the conservative youth group Turning Point USA featured a two-headed eagle, similar to the one on the official coat of arms of the Russian Federation. The eagle is clutching money with one talon and golf clubs with the other. The ribbon above the heads reads "45 Es Un Titere," Spanish for "45 Is a Puppet."

It was not immediately clear for how long the altered seal appeared on the screen during Trump's nearly 80-minute address to the crowd of mostly high school students at the Marriott Marquis.

The source of the photoshopped seal, first noted by The Washington Post, was also not known. The image, however, appears on several anti-Trump websites, including an e-commerce site selling merchandise with an identical seal.

Trump's critics have accused him of being a puppet of Russian President Vladimir Putin over his embrace of a long-time U.S. enemy while undermining the assessment of American intelligence agencies that Russia had interfered in the 2016 U.S. election.

And while Trump argued during the campaign that as president he would rarely leave Washington, since taking office on Jan. 20, 2017, Trump has gone golfing 227 times as of April 19, 2019, according to NBC News.

Turning Point USA did not respond to NBC's request for comment, but a spokesman for the group told the Post late Wednesday that he didn't know where the image came from, but that it was a "last-minute throw-up, and that's all it was." The spokesman added, "It was an A/V mistake . . . it certainly wasn’t our intention.”

Turning Point USA describes itself as a youth organization dedicated to educating and training and students "to promote the principles of freedom, free markets, and limited government."

The White House did not immediately respond to an email request for comment.

Travelers wishing to have a shorter train ride between New York City and Washington, D.C. are in luck – Amtrak announced the launch of Acela Nonstop, offering direct service between the two emblematic cities.

Though the service will begin Monday, Sept. 23, tickets are already available.

The initial weekday-only schedule includes one southbound train from New York Penn Station to Washington Union Station and one northbound train, from Washington to New York City, per day. The trip takes around two hours and 35 minutes. Prices range from $130 for a business class seat to $276 for a first-class seat for a one-way rush-hour trip.

According to Amtrak, the southbound train will depart New York Penn at 6:35 a.m. and will arrive at Washington, D.C. around 9:10 a.m. The northbound train will depart the nation’s capital at 4:30 p.m., and arrive at the Big Apple around 7:05 p.m.

The Acela Nonstop service comes ahead of the 2021 launch of brand-new Acela trainsets. The next generation of Acela trains, which are also expected to offer nonstop service between Washington and New York and New York and Boston, are being assembled at Alstom's facility in Hornell, New York, and will begin initial testing later this year and into 2020, Amtrak said.

While the Acela Nonstop is currently only available once per day between New York Penn and Washington Union Station, Amtrak will be looking at expanding locations and frequency.

“The new Acela Nonstop service will have you half way to your New York City or DC destination in the time it would take you to board a flight,” Amtrak President & CEO Richard Anderson said in a statement. “This new service will offer an ideal solution for travelers who want to save time and travel between city center DC and New York.”

People in Connecticut are reacting to Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosselló’s announcement that he will resign.

“I’m just proud of my people. They did it alone. They didn’t need the United States, they didn’t need anybody famous and they fought for what they felt was right for them,” said Jannett Campos, of New Britain. 

Rosselló’s resignation follows almost two weeks of protests, including on Monday when hundreds of thousands of people packed one of San Juan’s biggest highways. It paralyzed the city. 

Protestors have been demanding the resignation of the governor since almost 900 pages of private chats involving the governor were leaked. NBC News reports the chats were misogynistic and homophobic and included jokes about death following Hurricane Maria in 2017. 

Alfredo Santiago’s brothers were some of the protestors. 

“People were really tired. People got tired of being pushed to the side and he not attending to their needs,” said Alfredo Santiago, of New Britain. 

Santiago is referring to how long it took his family in Puerto Rico to get basic supplies after Hurricane Maria. He said he was shipping them canned goods and water because they didn’t have access to any of it for about a month and half. 

The protests were inspiring for Bea Angueira, a UConn graduate who moved back to Puerto Rico a few years ago for law school. She has been active in the protests. 

“It’s a movement that has captured everyone -- no matter your socioeconomic situation, no matter your background -- everyone has come together, your ideology, your political stance. I never thought that this moment would actually happen. You dream about this happening, but to live it is just phenomenal,” said Bea Angueira, who lives in San Juan, Puerto Rico. 

But Angueira and Campos said despite the governor’s decision to resign, the fight is far from over. 

“The reality is this still has to keep going because there still is a lot of corruption,” Angueira said. 

“I am very proud that they fought for decades of control and oppression and I hope they continue to fight because a lot of people feel this is not over,” said Campos. 

An analysis by state auditors provided some interesting insights into one of our state’s college sports programs.

Southern Connecticut State University’s (SCSU) sports programs got a clean bill of health from state auditors, but taxpayers did get an inside look on how it delves out funds.

Spending on men’s and women’s sports overall at Southern Connecticut State University is roughly equal.

The three biggest sports in terms of spending are football, men’s basketball, and women’s basketball.

However, last year the football program had double or more the expenses of men’s and women’s basketball for the following items (amounts rounded):

• $395,000 for coaching salaries, benefits and bonuses
• $56,000 for equipment, uniforms, and supplies
• $36,000 for non-travel student athlete meals

SCSU did spend about $300,000 on student aid for women’s basketball the last fiscal year, about 25 percent more than men’s basketball and football players received.

In terms of revenues football did not draw dramatically more, except for the aid it gets from the school.

You can review the audit here. 

Throughout June and July, hundreds of wildfires have flared across the Arctic Circle in Alaska, Siberia and Greenland, releasing clouds of harmful carbon dioxide emissions that equal the total amount of Sweden's annual carbon dioxide emissions.

Fires are common in the northern regions of Alaska between May and October, but not above the tree line, according to Nancy French, senior scientist at the Michigan Technological University. So far in 2019, Alaska has experienced over 400 wildfires, a number that is rising daily.

French added that the Arctic fires are “extreme” because of the speed at which they are moving and the amount of smoke they are producing. Many burn for several weeks or a month, and can be as large as 100,000 acres, or the size of a large city.

Warmer temperatures resulting from climate change explain why more fires have occurred this year. In the northern regions, temperatures have historically been drier and hotter. This part of the globe is also warming much faster than other areas, and experiencing more lightning, which ignites the fires, according to climate scientists.

Alaska, for example, saw its hottest first half of the year in history from January to June of 2019, according to NOAA. And, in June, the state has seen the second highest temperatures since statewide records began in 1925.

These fires are also more impactful because they are thawing the near-surface permafrost and releasing a large amount of carbon emissions, much of which are black soot that is deposited onto glaciers. The warming temperatures have created what's called a continuous positive feedback effect. Hotter weather leads to increased climate change, which results in more fires ignited. When these fires burn, they trap greenhouse gases, which further raise the heat in the atmosphere, according to Crystal Kolden of the University of Idaho. The warming is occuring because of a change in albedo, the reflectiveness of the land, that increases the amount of energy being trapped by the fires. 

“These energy balance issues [create] a global impact, such as the [decrease in] sea ice, the whole way that the Earth operates, its biodiversity,” French said. “In the long run, when looking at this issue, we will have a different change in the way the ecosystem operates. Fire is a catalyst to make that change happen faster.”

In June, Arctic fires released 50 megatons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, more than in the same month between 2010 and 2018 combined and equal to Sweden’s annual total carbon dioxide emissions. The country’s emissions result mainly from cars and electricity.  While it does not experience many fires, the fact that a relatively small country’s emissions are rivaled by the region's fires is “pretty amazing,” according to French.

The amount of carbon dioxide emitted by Arctic wildfires continues to rise. Between June 1 and July 19, fires in the region have emitted nearly 100 megatons, a number that is approaching the 2017 fossil fuel carbon dioxide emissions of Belgium, according to Mark Parrington, a senior scientist at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecast.

This spike in fires comes two years after a fire near Sisimiut in western Greenland made international headlines. Greenland rarely had fires in the past, but melting ice has left more of its open land to burn. The majority of the county’s population also lives on the shoreline, meaning that the fire’s impacts on people are greater. On July 10, satellites detected evidence of another fire in Greenland burning east of Sisimiut.

These fires are not suppressed unless they are burning near residential communities, and most are found in grassier, tundra-like areas north of the treeline. Fires typical of the Arctic occur in the forests, but are also difficult to prevent because of the nature of the ecosystem, according to French. The black and spruce pines in the northern areas are very flammable, especially in the drier weather. 

"We often have a visceral reaction when we have a fire to put it out," said Kolden, who teaches in the University of Idaho's Forest, Rangeland, and Fire Sciences Department. "We've done that for 150 years in the U.S. What we have found is that's just throwing money on the fire, that's not effective at all."

Instead, Kolden says that science shows it is more feasible to invest money in reducing fossil fuel consumption globally.

French also notes that fire managers do not have enough experience in fighting these intense fires and more research is needed. Though the Arctic's unprecedented fires are occurring in desolate areas, exposure to smoke poses the top human health risk as the outbreaks spread.

“Part of the reason we should be dealing with these fires is because they give off a lot of smoke,” French said. “The fire management community has a lot of experience, but not with these extreme events. Having them better equipped with what to do with extreme fire is really a key thing.”

In the long-term, the scientists are concerned about the impact emissions will have on amplifying the effects of global climate change, according to Kolden. Fires are increasing in the north across all regions, and there is evidence they will continue spreading into new areas, French said. This fire behavior means that the forests and landscape of the future are going to be different, but scientists currently do not have enough information to predict their outcomes. 

Residents of these areas worry that their lifestyles will have to change, according to French. Fishing and hunting are important in Alaska, but ecosystem changes can put the industries in jeopardy. 

“I think there is [fear],” French said. “People who live in Alaska are very aware of the fact that it is changing, and they are a bit afraid of what it means for the land they live in.”

Follow the movement of the fires here: 

WARNING: Some may find the video in this story disturbing.

A business shut down after an employee slaughtered a loose cow in a neighboring business’s parking lot is working to correct violations brought to light after the incident.

NBC Connecticut Investigates first broke the story and video about a cow that wandered off the Saba Live Poultry property in Bloomfield, and was killed across the street in the back lot of a Home Depot.

The Saba Live Poultry market has been closed since last week, when inspectors went through the business.

This followed the incident where one of its cows got loose on the neighboring Home Depot property, and then it was corralled and killed by Saba employees.

Saba’s spokesman told NBC Connecticut Investigates the store will remain closed while it works to brings violations found up to code. The issues mostly involve keeping livestock clean, and free from heat stress.

Meanwhile, the incident last week has drawn the attention of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA.

The organization said it will post a billboard about the incident near Saba’s Bloomfield store in the coming days.

Police also told us it is still possible there could be additional criminal charges in this case.

Buying a home that is the right fit for your family can be challenging, but a new study digs deeper into where in Connecticut your money will go the farthest and where your finances may be stretched thin.

According to a study by UnitedStatesZipCodes.org, which analyzed data from the Census Bureau, the Milldale section of Southington has been named the most affordable place to live in the state, followed by Manchester and Barkhamsted.

“The taxes are manageable,” said Milldale resident Mark Zigmont. “They’re not overpriced as opposed to some other towns, the mill rate is not too high, so you get some bang for the buck.”

Broker Associate Heidi Matusik explained Southington ranked highest for two reasons: the property tax rate paired with the median income. Matusik said a central location has also been key to the town’s success.

“We have great access to the highways and also we have a lot of homes that are affordable, all the way up to luxury homes.”

The study named Greenwich as the least affordable place to buy a home and Waterbury, where the mill rate is 60.2, was ranked second.

“That’s probably the first time Waterbury has been compared to the gold coast,” said Rocky Salvador of Waterbury.

“The median income in Waterbury is substantially lower and their mill rate is double what it is here in Southington, so that would drastically impact the way the housing market is,” said Matusik.

Homeowners said city services are top-notch, but they hope officials can attract more businesses to ease the burden.

“The mayor in this town is pretty active trying to bring in business,” said Salvador. “I think he’s doing a pretty decent job. The addition of the UConn campus in downtown Waterbury has really revitalized that a lot, so I’m optimistic about Waterbury. I’m hoping they increase the tax base and take the burden off the homeowner.”

Police are looking to identify a man who last week exposed himself to a woman jogging in Cambridge, then escaped when the woman tried to detain him.

The woman told Massachusetts State Police she was jogging on Memorial Drive near Vassar Street about 7:30 a.m. on July 18 when the man exposed himself as she jogged by him.

Surveillance video obtained from the area showed the woman stop, turn around and pursue the man and attempt to physically detain him.

"I told him I'm going to get him. 'I'm going to get you, darling,'" the woman, who gave her name as Aia, recalled Wednesday while speaking to the media. "It was not his lucky day. Because I decided to chase him down."

Aia, who is 6'1" and served in the Israeli military, said she held the man for a few minutes and yelled for help, but no one came to her aid.

"Where I come from and how I grew up, we don't just walk by. We don't just ignore it, because I have a daughter and it could be my daughter next to him and she's not going to be that," Aia said. "If you want to call it bravery for what I did, yeah, it's for the ones after me."

The man eventually got away and fled the area down Amesbury Street, police said.

"I think she put the fear of God in him," a state police spokesman said.

Aia said she had no regrets about chasing after the man.

"Hell no," she said. "I was not ready to see his little [expletive]. I'm not doing that no. Just no. It's not right."

A surveillance image provides a closer view of the man, who has a heavy build and short, dark-colored, receding hair. The man was wearing black and gray running clothing and black running shoes with white soles.

State police say their official stance is for victims to not chase anyone but don't fault Aia for doing so. Anyone with information on the man or incident is urged to contact state police at 617-727-6780.

A motorcyclist was seriously hurt in a crash on Falls Avenue in Watertown Thursday.

Police said the motorcycle and a vehicle collided near the intersection of Falls Avenue and Skipper Avenue around 4:25 p.m. The motorcyclist was rushed to Waterbury Hospital with life-threatening injuries.

The other driver was not hurt.

The crash is under investigation. Falls Avenue is closed in the area.

No other details were immediately available.

Danbury is welcoming back an old friend.

Thursday, members of the community came together for a dedication ceremony to welcome back a big part of their local history, a 38-foot Uncle Sam statue.

“Oh he’s huge, I can’t imagine how big he actually is,” said 10-year-old Jacob.

The Uncle Sam now perched on White Street in front of the Danbury Railway Museum is considered the world’s largest statue of the American legend, at 38 feet tall.

“I think it’s really cool and it’s really, really big,” said 10-year-old Sabrina.

Locals remember his larger than life welcome when they entered the Great Danbury State Fair almost four decades ago.

“With his hand by his side, he saluted he greeted everybody that came into the fair,” remembered Ken Post, a lifelong Danbury resident who worked at fair for 15 years. “Food, all sorts of entertainment. Ice choppers climbing poles chopping wood. It was fantastic.”

The fair began in 1869, took a break during World War II before ending after its 1981 run.

Locals and businesses donated thousands of dollars to bring him back to town.

Now he’s quite the talking point for Danbury residents of all ages.

“It used to be at the Danbury Mall and then some people bought it and now it’s back here which is really cool,” said Sabrina.

Jack Stetson, wrote a book about the statue’s history. “I’m so pleased we’re able to bring back a piece of it in person, if that’s a person.”

It’s a crop that wasn’t even legal a year ago but today hemp appears to be a large part of Connecticut’s agricultural future.

Wallingford’s The Remedy has been selling hemp and CBD oil products since opening its doors in April.

“Things have been exponentially increasing. I mean CBD is a real buzz right now,” said owner Alexander Angeloff.

CBD is short for cannabidiol, a non-intoxicating chemical compound found in the cannabis plant and industrial hemp plants, which are now legal to grow in Connecticut.

Town Farm, in Ledyard is one 67 Connecticut farms so far to acquire a hemp growing license. Owner Dylan Williams, who has a plant science degree from UConn, has converted his farm from organic vegetables to hemp this season.

“I think we’re still trying to navigate the hemp industry and trying how to figure out and understand what’s best to grow and how to grow it,” said Williams.

State Senator Cathy Osten (D-19th District) backed legislation to legalize hemp, and toured Town Farm today to learn more about an industry she sees having a bright future in Connecticut.

“Thousands of products can be made out of the different pieces of hemp plant,” she explained, “It’s a billion dollar industry.”

According to New Frontier Data, the Hemp Industry generated 1.1 billion dollars in 2018 and is estimated to double by 2022. Osten sees this as an opportunity and says the annual impact on Connecticut’s economy could be significant.

“Once we get moving here on both production and growing. I think we can be at a half-billion dollars (a year) or more,” she said.

Connecticut farmers are getting on board.

“The numbers are real. You see it out in Colorado and the West Coast. They’re making a lot of money from this stuff,” said Williams.

The cost of getting into this business though is not cheap. Among the biggest expenses are the seeds themselves which can cost $1 per seed.

Williams says he’s planted 4000 plants per acre. Something he estimates could yield 1000 to 1500 dry bio mass pounds that can be extracted into CBD oil.

“The value for something like that can be 30 to 40 thousand dollars an acre,” said Williams.

While CBD oils and creams may be the most well-known hemp products the usage is much broader. Hemp has many uses including textiles, clothing and medicinal purposes, prompting Osten to call for a broader use of the hemp harvest.

“I’d like to see us use the whole plant from the stem all the way up to the flower at the top,” said Osten.

One obstacle facing hemp retailers and growers is public perception. It’s often confused with marijuana.

“It’s a cousin to marijuana but it is a different plant,” Osten says. “It only has .3 percent or less of THC so it has no consequences.”

THC is the psychoactive component of marijuana, which gets you high. By both federal and state law hemp cannot contain more than 0.3 percent THC on a dry weight basis. Osten says this will be closely monitored by the department of agriculture.

“If it has a higher THC value they’ll require the product be destroyed,” she said.

A white woman who berated two black women at a North Carolina restaurant with a racial slur said she is not sorry and that she would say it again, NBC News reported. 

Nancy Goodman was caught on video directing the N-word at the women during a confrontation at a Bonefish Grill in North Hills, North Carolina, after Goodman accused them of being too loud. Goodman told NBC-affiliate WRAL Wednesday that she should have handled the situation differently, but that she wasn't sorry.

"I’m not going to say I’m sorry to them because they kept pushing at it," Goodman said. "I would say it again to them. They are the rudest individuals I have ever seen." 

The two women, Chanda Stewart and Lakesha Shaw, said they were enjoying their dinner when Goodman called them rude and complained that they were being too loud. Stewart posted a video of the confrontation on Facebook, where Goodman notices that she was being recorded and smiles widely before approaching the table to tell them they were loud.

The Senate Intelligence Committee released a bipartisan report Thursday on Russian election interference that found the U.S. election infrastructure was unprepared to combat “extensive activity” by Russia that began in 2014 and carried on at least into 2017, NBC News reported.

The report was issued just one day after former special counsel Robert Mueller warned U.S. lawmakers that he believes Russia will seek to interfere again in the 2020 campaign and that “many more countries” are also developing similar capabilities.

The report found that the Russians took advantage of the nation's decentralized voting system, “exploiting seams” between federal oversight and state election systems.

Serious injuries have been reported in a crash on Interstate 84 in Waterbury Thursday night.

Connecticut state Police said the crash happened near exit 18 on I-84 westbound around 7:45 p.m. There are serious injuries involved, police said.

The exit 18 off-ramp is currently closed. Drivers should expect delays in the area.

No other details were immediately available.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

It was an unexpected reunion. Dooley the cat went missing three years ago, but now he’s finally come home.

His owner says a concerned stranger, animal control, and a microchip helped bring them together again.

“I went over and saw him and immediately, immediately I knew it was Dooley. I knew,” said owner Suzanne Monnes.

Monnes says Dooley knew her too. It took three years, but the pair are finally reunited. Monnes and her husband adopted Dooley as a rescue when they lived in Florida. They were moving back to Connecticut in 2016 when Dooley made his escape in Madison.

“We put up flyers, and we had posters made. We called the police, and we did all the things you’re supposed to do. We never heard a thing. Nothing,” said Monnes.

After months passed, Monnes gave up hope but kept some of Dooley’s things, wondering if they’d get another pet in the future. But no cat could measure up to Dooley. Then last Friday a concerned citizen called animal control after seeing a hungry cat roaming around Madison. Monnes says the animal control officer thought Dooley looked familiar. After scrolling through old Facebook posts for missing pets, a match was found. Monnes was notified and immediately recognized Dooley, but there were questions from some wondering if it could be the same cat.

“I said, by the way, Dooley has a chip, a microchip,” said Monnes. “The minute they scanned him, they knew it was Dooley, and I got something on my phone from the American Kennel Club Reunite Program saying my cat had been found in Madison.”

Monnes says she got Dooley chipped in Florida when her vet there recommended it, and she didn’t give it much thought. Now she says she’s glad she had it done.

“Every pet owner should have a chip,” said Monnes.

The vet told Monnes someone must have been looking out for Dooley because he couldn’t have survived so many winters alone.

“It's absolutely amazing. It really is, and he's in perfect condition. There isn't a flea, there's nothing. It's unbelievable ,” said Monnes.

Since the reunion, there have been quite a few trips to the pet store to add to 5-year-old Dooley’s collection of toys. Both owner and pet are happy to be back together after spending so much time apart.

“He’s settled just right in, sleeps wherever he wants. What’s not to like, right? Except he can’t be outside, right? Obviously,” said Monnes.

If you’d like to learn about the AKC Reunite Microchip program, head here: www.akcreunite.org.

Three Connecticut schools have been targeted by ransomware attacks.

In two of the cases student and staff information was accessed, though officials in those districts say there is no evidence that it was misused.

“Typically, ransomware is going to encrypt the information so you can’t access it. Then you pay the ransom to gain access it,” explained George Kudelchuk of the Kelser Corporation an IT consultant in Glastonbury. “It’s an epidemic and it’s a business, it’s a paying business for them.”

Kudelchuk said that victims can be enticed to pay upwards of $1,000 to get their information back. Once they have your money there’s no certainty that you’ll get your information back or that it won’t happen again, he pointed out.

None of the school districts have said whether they paid a ransom to get their information back, but Kudelchuk said that larger organizations like school systems often have a back-up that can be used to regenerate their network.

The Wallingford School District told NBC Connecticut that they received preliminary notice of, “...a security incident that impacted a limited number of students' directory information, including names and, in some cases, dates of birth and email addresses. The incident did not involve the Social Security number or assessment information.”

“It’s really scary. It’s very personal information,” said Ibtihal Anbar, a Wallingford mother who has two students entering school in the district this year.

Unlike a data breach where private information like social security numbers are stolen, a ransomware attack doesn’t usually involve identity theft, according to Kudelchuk.

“They’re not actually pulling the data out, they’re just encrypting it so you can’t do anything with it,” he explained.

The Pomfret schools were recently made aware of a similar incident to a program they haven’t used in five years.

“As a result of the incident, we are undergoing a review to determine additional steps we can take to further enhance the safety and security,” the school’s principal, Susan Imschweiler, said in a letter to parents.

Meanwhile, New Haven Public Schools say a ransomware attack last week did not compromise student information but did result in the district’s network having to be restored. In a statement, the district said, “Ransomware is a real threat that all organizations must deal with.” The district “...is constantly working to update and maintain all protocols to protect its technology infrastructure."

Kudelchuk said schools are vulnerable because there are so many different users on their network from staff to students who often go outside the network. He added that cash-strapped school districts are often easy targets.

“Based on budget they may not have the latest and greatest security,” he pointed out.

Some parents say school districts should place a higher priority on internet security.

“Our children are our future. So, their records and information should be protected," said one parent with children in New Haven public schools.

Hartford police have arrested two people in connection with a fatal shooting behind Bulkeley High School in Hartford earlier this month.

Police said 34-year-old Jorge Alicea was found shot in the rear lot of the school at 300 Wethersfield Avenue around 12:30 p.m. on July 11.

School was not in session at the time.

On Friday, police arrested 28-year-old Tachani Aosario on a conspiracy to commit murder charge. 

On Thursday, they arrested 23-year-old Cynthia Cruz and charged her with murder. She was held on a $1 million bond.

Polie said the suspect and the victim knew each other.

"As we are talking right now, detectives are interviewing the second homicide suspect. So we’re hoping to get a clearer indication as to what happened and why this did happen," said Lt. Paul Cicero of the Hartford Police Department.

Police said Alicea did not have a weapon on him and he was riding his bike at the time of the killing.

There have been 16 homicides in Hartford this year.