A man was seriously hurt when he was hit by a car on Center Street in Manchester Wednesday afternoon.

Police said the 59-year-old Manchester resident was crossing the street when he was hit on Center Street near Main Street. It appears he was not in the crosswalk.

“Upon arrival officers encounter a male in the roadway unconscious. Paramedics from the Fire Department, be it that the Fire Department was right near where this accident occurred, were out tending to the victim," explained Lt. Ryan Shea of the Manchester Police Department.

The victim was taken to Hartford Hospital with serious injuries.

The driver did stop and is cooperating with investigators.

Police remind the public to always use the crosswalk.

“This is a very wide road not to utilize a crosswalk and try to make it across four lanes of traffic during rush hour. It’s a serious risk," Shea said.

No other details were immediately available.

This is the second serious pedestrian-involved crash in Manchester in under 24 hours - Manchester Republican Town Committee Chairman John Deeb was killed when he was struck by a car on Hartford Road Tuesday night.

A horse grazes in the sun next to a barb wire fence at the Willard-Cybulski Correctional Institution in Enfield. They are part of a one-of-a kind program is helping to rehabilitate incarcerated veterans in Connecticut.

Inmate Daniel Elliot is working on trust.

“If he’d feel me slipping back a little on his shoulder, he’d stop and wait for me,” he said. “No reins or nothing. Just walking together.”

Elliot is one of 700 veterans currently behind bars in Connecticut. As part of a program called Operation Warrior Horse, he spends time with the animals for therapy.

“It just helps me calm down and just realize that not everything is such a big issue,” Elliot said. “For the whole week it gives me a peace of mind.”

Licensed social worker and equine expert Renee Bouffard says it’s a 10 week program designed to help veteran offenders who may also be dealing with things like PTSD.

“We believe that all veterans deserve help once they’ve left the service because of all they’ve giving for us, and this is our way to give back,” Bouffard said.

The horses offer them something that humans can’t.

“Horses actually can identify with your emotions and what you’re giving off and the energy that your giving off,” said counselor supervisor Aesha Munin. “It has to work.”

Connecticut’s Commissioner of Corrections Rollin Cook says Operation Warrior Horse is working.

“The men that are involved, they’ve expressed to us that they’re in a place now, a very positive place in their lives that they haven’t seen for a very long time, and it just comes from these sessions of being able to interact with the treatment providers and with the horses.”

“There is a genuine care that we get better, that we get help,” said Elliot. “Even if it’s just saving one veteran, you’re making a big difference.”

New Haven Mayor-Elect Justin Elicker is beginning to plan for the city’s future after defeating incumbent Mayor Toni Harp.

On Wednesday, the future mayor rolled out his plans for his administration.

It begins with filling vacant positions inside his cabinet and working together with those who currently hold city positions.

“We’re hoping to bring some institutional expertise to the team and at the same time ensure that the team continues to have the spirit of the campaign which is very grass-root focused,” said Elicker. “I believe the goal is to have groups that were involved in both sides of the election.”

The mayor-elect says there’s a few challenges his team faces like choosing between a large staff or small staff and working with appointed leaders from Harp’s administration.

“I think we’ll probably end up around 20 or so people,” said Elicker. “We want to find candidates who are ethical, have a strong background in the issue area that they are focusing on and reflect the diversity of our city and are hard-working and accessible.”

One key piece to the transition puzzle, both Elicker and Harp are Democrats who are working for a historically democratic city. Elicker said that he understands that some tension may arise.

“We may not always agree on every fundamental issue but the goal is diplomacy,” said Elicker. “We want to keep the conversation going and make sure we are changing course in some areas of the city.”

As the mayor-elect begins his new journey to lead the Elm City, he’s calling on the people of New Haven to speak up about the issues that matter to them.

“We want many more ideas and people to contribute to this process,” said Elicker. “I believe the best way to move forward is to work together.”

Elicker is focusing on ironing out the details to best suit the needs of the people of New Haven which include fixing issues with schools, creating a budget and working to establish New Haven as a sanctuary city.

One of Elicker’s focal points is finances which include creating a city budget.

“It’s one of those things that’s tricky,” said Elicker. “My team and I must have a budget ready for March 1.”

The mayor-elect believes New Haven Public Schools needs some attention to create a better learning environment for students and their families.

“I believe what’s critical right now is some stability in the board of education,” said Elicker. “Over the next few months, I plan to meet with everyone from the board of education to make sure that I develop and deepen those relationships.

Immigration legislation is also on the table. It’s an important policy priority for people inside the Elm City, like Unidad Latina En Accion Director John Lugo.

“We live in an emergency basis in New Haven especially since immigration continues to detain our people inside New Haven,” said Lugo. “We have been fighting for two years with the Board of Alderman to create an ordinance, or a like a law.”

Lugo is hoping to see more action taken with the new administration, which includes creating an ordinance to stop all city departments from working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE.) agents.

“If we had those ordinances in place, I think we would be preventing the actions of Immigration within New Haven,” said Lugo.

Elicker is also pushing for more actions and legislation to be passes with the new board of alderman.

“We want to enshrine the sanctuary city status into law,” said Elicker. “I support the legislation and I want to work with the Board of Alders to approve and pass the legislation.”

Elicker will begin his tenure as New Haven’s mayor in January. He is hoping to meet with Harp to gain insight as the two transition.

The mayor-elect hopes to fill those vacant positions in his cabin throughout the next few weeks.

A 10-year-old boy was rushed to the hospital Wednesday in Northeast Philadelphia after being shot in the back of the head during a drive-by shooting, police said. 

The boy was walking home from school around 3:30 p.m. on Torresdale Avenue near Margaret Street, about 2 blocks from Warren G. Harding Middle School, when a red or maroon Pontiac G6 pulled up near him, according to police. An unidentified gunman in the backseat of the vehicle then opened fire, shooting the boy in the head.

NBC10 obtained surveillance video showing the gunman firing as the boy and two men run for cover. Police said one of those men, the intended target, pulled out his own weapon and fired back at the gunman in the car. The intended target was later taken into custody. Police have not yet revealed the charges against him.

The gunman in the car remains on the loose.

The boy was taken to the hospital where he is currently in critical but stable condition. Police also said the boy's family was nearby at the time of the shooting.

The Crime Scene Unit took the boy's bloody backpack in for evidence.

The shooting comes amid escalating gun violence throughout the Pennsylvania city, including the death of a 2-year-old girl and the grievous injury of an 11-month-old boy.

Hours before the shooting, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney announced "expanded initiatives" for neighborhoods most plagued by gun violence, including intervention programs and rapid response outreach.

The programs would start in the spring, according to an emailed statement. 

This story is developing. Check back for updates.

Tucked behind some trees on historic Main Street in Farmington, number 107 has seen its share of history.

“Well John Wadsworth is the one who bought it, in 1660, or bought the land,” explained John R. Watson, who eleven generations later lived in the home as a kid. He helped his family farm their then acres of land.

“We were living down the street and we moved in with my grandfather and I lived here until I went to college.”

But Wednesday, the Wadsworth home is witnessing something it hasn’t seen before, it’s up for sale.

“I don’t believe there’s more than three houses in this country that have been owned by the same family and lived in by the same family, Wadsworths, for over 350 years. I mean you’re not going to find it,” said Watson.

While it’s bittersweet to let it go, the family tells me times change, “My siblings are in Maine, Virginia, Utah, Washington, DC. I’m out in the Finger Lakes of New York,” said Wadsworth. “There were 17 of us cousins that all grew up, couple of them are here with us today, but they’re in their old homes, and they’ve been here. It’s sad, but...I guess you do what you can and try to make it work.”

Auction bidding didn’t bring a price they believe the home is worth Tuesday, so they’re still accepting offers, looking for a new family to appreciate it like they did for hundreds of years to come.

“New chapter of history. It’s a great old house.”

While the house didn’t end up selling, perhaps the stall was serendipitous. A distant descendant reached out to NBC Connecticut saying that he’s interested in keeping it in the family name.

“Although I’m not from the branch that is directly a descendent of John Wadsworth who built the house in 1620 it was one of the brothers of the family that came over,” said Evan Wadsworth, a University of Hartford graduate who lives in Florida and couldn’t get to Farmington in time for the auction after a friend called him about it.

He didn’t want to buy it sight unseen, so now he has more time to make his way to Connecticut.

“Both my parents, my sister agree, it there is a way to continue to keep this in our family’s heritage. It would be, not only, something we have intrinsic value for, but in general for the state of Connecticut.”

A Wadsworth relatives selling the home said it would be great to keep the house in the family name, as negotiations continue.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced Wednesday a massive voluntary recall of Simmons Prepared Foods fresh and frozen chicken products because of concerns that some products were contaminated with pieces of metal.

The recall includes about 2,071,397 pounds of poultry produced from Oct. 21 through Nov. 4. The products were shipped to stores in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Minnesota, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania, according to a press release.

The affected products’ inspection marks include the establishment numbers “P-1949,” “P- 486” or “P-5837.” Consumers can view the product labels here.

Although FSIS and Simmons Prepared Foods said there have been no confirmed reports of injury after eating the products, the agency urged anyone currently storing the potentially contaminated meat to discard it immediately.

For any questions or concerns about the recall, contact Donald Miller, senior vice president of sales at Simmons Prepared Foods, Inc. at 888-831-7007.

Consumers can contact the USDA’s toll-free Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854) for any general food safety questions.

Tolls are back on the table at the state capitol.

After failing to bring his transportation plan to a vote this spring, Gov. Ned Lamont has a new plan to fix congestion on Connecticut highways, which he plans to unveil it to the public on Thursday.

Wednesday, Democrats met to go over the plan, which they say includes tolls.

“I like a lot of the components that are contained in this plan,” said Rep. Joe Aresimowicz, Speaker of the House.

Several iterations of the governor’s original plan included between 50 and 80 tolls. Each one was met with enough skepticism this spring that the Democrat-controlled House and Senate declined to even take them up for a vote. The latest rendition scales down tolling to just 14 bridges. The money collected would go back into making repairs and fixing bottlenecks along the same stretch.

“It’s not a general, ‘we need to fix 95.’ It’s very specific and the data will be there to show why that needs to be done,” Aresimowicz said.

He explained that the plan also includes borrowing from the federal government to improve the railroad to shorten the commute to New York and purchase new trains cars with upgraded internet. Money would also be spent on the state’s bus routes.

Republicans said they met with the administration last week to go over general details about the plan.

“I think the governor is focusing on the right issues and I think we need to see where those chokepoints are that he’s addressing,” said Rep. Vincent Candelora, a Republican from North Branford.

Republicans have held firm on voting no on any transportation plan that includes tolls. They may offer up their own plan before a special session is called to vote on the proposal.

“I don’t think it’s the Republicans intent to just slam the door and say we’re not doing anything we’re just going to vote no,” said Candelora.

The House Transportation Committee Chair, Roland Lemar, said the proposal includes discounts for drivers from Connecticut. He estimates they’ll pay between 50 cents to $1 to cross a toll bridge, a cost that may even be capped at once per day.

“We think it’s appropriate to have out of state folks paying some of the cost. They’re coming through, they’re the ones creating a lot of the damage on our roadway,” said Lemar.

However, Candelora didn’t expect the governor’s plan to be an easy sell to his counterparts across the aisle either especially in an upcoming election year.

“If a toll is going up in my district, whether I’m a Democrat or Republican, and there’s only 14 in the state of Connecticut, I’m not sure I would be ok voting for that,” he pointed out. “You’re going to see state reps or state senators saying sure I’ll support this but I can’t have the gantry in my district.”

Cherie Juhnke stood outside the speaker’s office Wednesday morning, holding a “No Tolls” sign. Her group, No Tolls CT, has been a vocal critic of the Lamont transportation plans.

“No tolls. They’ll never go away if they go up,” she said. “No one is talking about cost-cutting. I haven’t heard anyone talk about spending cuts. So, stop spending and be responsible like citizens have to be.”

The Lamont Administration wants a special session to vote on his new transportation plan.

“I would come in as soon as possible to get this done,” said Aresimowicz.

Candelora said Republicans would also be in favor of voting before the regular session begins in January.

Two people were hit by a car while crossing the street in Simsbury Wednesday evening.

The crash happened in from of Town Hall at 930 Hopmeadow Street.

Police said the man and woman were crossing the street just before 6:20 p.m. when they were hit. The man was airlifted to Hartford Hospital and the woman was taken by St. Francis by ambulance.

Both victims were conscious and alert when emergency crews arrived.

The driver is cooperating with the investigation.

The road remains closed in the area.

No other details were immediately available.

Less than a day after being released from jail, Brandon Gonzales says he had no doubt he would eventually be cleared.

"I knew I was coming home because I knew I was innocent," Gonzales said.

Gonzales spent nine days behind bars after being arrested and accused of the Oct. 26 Greenville party shooting that killed two and injured a dozen -- six by gunfire.

"I'll never forget what happened to me and what occurred; it's always going to be with me forever," Gonzales said Wednesday.

The Hunt County Sheriff's Department released Gonzales Tuesday after discovering evidence they say cleared him, combined with a lack of cooperation from some witnesses at the scene.

The family of Kevin Berry, who was shot and killed during the shooting, said they learned of Gonzales' release on Facebook.

"I broke down last night. I was like my son is dead and he don't got no justice," Nakima Alexander said.

Alexander believes the investigation has been mishandled from the start and said the heartbreak over her son's death has turned to anger.

"Put yourself in my shoes. You’d probably get a little angry too," she said.

Gabriel Gonzales, Brandon Gonzales' brother, stood by his brother from the beginning and told NBC 5 Wednesday that the focus should now be on finding the real killer.

"We have work to do to bring justice to the victims' families," Gabriel Gonzales said.

Two young children have been found safe after the car they were in was stolen in New Haven Wednesday, according to police.

Police said the car was stolen from the area of 360 Columbus Ave. At some point, the children, a 5-year-old and a 10-month-old were taken out of the car and found by a good Samaritan in the Rice Field area.

The children are safe and uninjured, police said. The suspect and vehicle are still missing.

The suspect is described as a male wearing a grey hoodie. The car is a grey Mercedes SUV.

Investigators said the children's mother went inside the Roberto Clemente school to pick up a child and that's when the car was stolen. It appears the keys were left in the car.

The children will be reunited with their mother.

No other details were immediately available.

Vice President Mike Pence is expected to file paperwork Thursday for President Donald Trump to appear on the ballot in New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary.

Pence will file the necessary paperwork for reelection on behalf of Trump in Concord, his office announced on Tuesday. After the filing, the vice president will give remarks at a "Politics & Eggs" event Manchester.

Already several presidential hopefuls have filed paperwork for their names to appear on the ballot as Democrats hope to oust each other from a crowded race. Trump currently faces no major challenger in his party to recapture the GOP nomination.

The filing comes as the president faces an impeachment inquiry by the Democrat-majority House. An overwhelming majority of Democrats approved rules to move forward with investigating Trump for alleged abuse of power. He allegedly spoke with Ukraine’s newly elected president to investigate political rival Joe Biden.

Police have issued Silver Alerts for a 16-year-old Stamford girl and her 2-month-old son.

The Silver Alerts say 2-month-old Bramiery Rojas-Guzman was last seen on Tuesday with his mother, 16-year-old Odalix Martinez-Guzman, who is listed as a missing runaway.

Odalix is 5-feet-4 and weighs 165 pounds. Anyone with information is asked to call Stamford police at 203 977-4921.

Six families have been evacuated after a water main break at 300 Eastern Street in New Haven caused a sinkhole near the apartment building.

Officials say the water main break happened just after 4:30 a.m. and a sinkhole that is 10-feet wide and 6-feet deep formed.

“We can see the footings of the building so that’s how much pressure was here as this was pretty much spewing out of the ground,” Rick Fontana, the director of emergency operations for New Haven, said. “There is water up to 300 feet away from the building on the roads. It’s created a little bit of ice, but temperatures will warm up and we don’t expect any issues with that.”

In all, 13 people have been evacuated.

“For right now, the families are evacuated out of here. We’ve got them in a safe area and then we’ll make a determination based on what the building official deems necessary,” Fontana said. “If they can go back, then they’ll go back. But again, there will be no utilities. Water and gas are going to be shut off.”

The Regional Water Company and Southern Connecticut Gas Company are on scene.

Officials from the Regional Water Authority said repairs typically take four to six hours and 15 properties will be affected while the water main is repaired. 

Eastern Street is closed at Foxon Boulevards.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Miami is vastly different than it was two decades ago. That is nearly how long it's been since a little boy named Elian Gonzalez was found in the ocean three miles off the coast of Fort Lauderdale. But no matter how much time has passed and how much the city's demographics and political leanings have changed, no one who lived in the Magic City at the time can forget the story of the child at the center of one of the largest sagas Miami has seen.

Elian's mother and 11 others drowned during the voyage from Cuba to the United States that November in 1999. Extended family in Little Havana took the child in. His cousin, Marisleysis Gonzalez, became his guardian and advocated for Elian to permanently stay in the country his mother lost her life coming to. But his father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, wanted the boy sent back to the communist country to live with him.

A contentious political and family custody battle began -- one that shook the city, bitterly divided friends, families and even newsrooms in their opinions about the matter. The issue caused protests and riots in the city -- home to the largest amount of Cuban exiles in the world.

The federal government weighed in and decided on the side of the father: Elian would be sent back to Cuba. But the child's Miami family would not turn him over so easily. So then-Attorney General Janet Reno called on special agents to devise and execute a plan to forcibly remove the 6-year-old boy from the Little Havana home. The man who was in charge of that team is James Goldman. Almost 20 years later, the former federal agent sat down to share behind-the-scenes details about the operation, his reflections and his opinion.

It was the fastest federal search warrant to be executed in U.S. history, Goldman, who at the time was the director of investigations for the INS' Miami district, said.

The operational plan took about a month to develop and involved about 250 agents.

When I held up a tablet displaying the famous picture that circled the world --that showed an armed federal agent at the moment he discovered the boy hiding in the closet with his uncle -- he said, "The picture that captured the hearts and minds of the American population, is that of a true professional, that did an outstanding job. He did what he was assigned to do."

But he adds, "This is a photo that should never have happened. I would recommend that no civilian -- particularly a photographer, holding a metallic object -- jump up in front of a team of law enforcement officers while they're executing a search warrant for the sole purpose of getting a picture. That could have been a tipping point."

After the most challenging part of the operation ended without anyone firing a weapon, Elian was wrapped in a blanket and swiftly carried out by a female agent to one of three vans -- the other two served as decoys.

"She was instructed to speak to him in a very calm manner in his native language, Spanish, and to ensure him that we were there to help him," said the now-retired federal agent.

The boy, who had garnered national attention, was taken on a helicopter ride to Watson Island. There, he was transferred to a jet headed to Andrews Air Force Base in Washington, D.C., where his father was waiting for the boy in a secure hangar.

"The father and son embraced for a significant amount of time. Both of them were crying. Both of them were clearly excited to see one another," Goldman said. "I don't think anything should ever stand between a father and a son under any circumstance, under any political theory or condition."

After Elian Gonzalez returned to Cuba, he went on to become a prominent figure for the Cuban regime. His cousin Marisleysis declined our request to participate in this interview.

Goldman has since retired from law enforcement and opened a private detective agency. He said he would like to see Elian again.

"What would you tell Elian Gonzalez if he were in front of you right now?" I asked.

"I would like to congratulate him, for his maturity that he demonstrated the night of the rescue and recovery operation," Goldman said. "And I would like to know him better as a now 26-year-old young man. I think we would have a lot to talk about."

West Haven High School will dismiss at 11 a.m. Thursday after a crash caused a water main break, according to a post on the West Haven Public Schools Facebook page. 

The post says buses will be on campus at 11 a.m. to transport students home and bagged lunches will be available for students.

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Whole Foods Market has announced it is recalling multiple vegetable products from its stores nationwide, days after the company that sells to the grocer and others yanked its veggies over concern about possible bacterial contamination. 

The company that sells to Whole Foods and other retailers, Mann Packing Co., said last week it was pulling vegetable products after it was notified by the FDA and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency about potential contamination with Listeria monocytogenes, which can cause serious and possibly deadly infections.

Dozens and dozens of Whole Foods products are affected. See all of the recalled items by state right here.

The recall only affects products that are listed at the above site; these products were available on salad and hot bars, chefs’ cases or packaged in plastic containers. The affected products were sold between Oct. 10 and Nov. 4. 

Customers who bought any of the items at a Whole Foods can bring a valid receipt into stores for a full refund. Consumers with additional questions can call 1-844-936-8255.

Young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems can contact particularly dangerous infections from listeria monocytogenes. Healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women. 

No illnesses in connection with the recall have been reported to date, Mann Packing Co. said last week. 

Federal agents raided a Long Island tech firm early Thursday and arrested its top executives amid concerns the company was selling Chinese-made equipment to the U.S. military while claiming it had been manufactured in the United States.

According to federal prosecutors, Aventura Technologies of Commack has been running the alleged scheme since 2006, selling equipment with "known cybersecurity vulnerability" to government and other customers. 

The alleged fraud is raising security concerns about the materials that wound up being used by the U.S. Navy and other military branches. It comes amid a tense standoff between the U.S. and Chinese governments over whether Chinese equipment from state-linked enterprises should be in sensitive U.S. networks and facilities. 

“As alleged, the defendants falsely claimed for years that their surveillance and security equipment was manufactured on Long Island, padding their pockets with money from lucrative contracts without regard for the risk to our country’s national security posed by secretly peddling made-in-China electronics with known cyber vulnerabilities,” United States Attorney Richard Donoghue said in a statement. 

In at least one case, according to the complaint, the U.S. Navy ordered a night vision camera from Aventura for delivery to the U.S. Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, Connecticut. The camera that was delivered, the complaint alleges, was imported from China despite the company saying it was U.S.-made. 

Since November 2010, Aventura’s revenues have exceeded more than $88 million, including more than $20 million from federal government contracts, court papers say.

Among the items sold to the United States government by Aventura were 25 body cameras to the U.S. Air Force to be used by security personnel at a United States air base, turnstiles to be installed at a U.S. Department of Energy facility in Tennessee, and a night vision camera to the U.S. Navy which was delivered to the U.S. Submarine base at Groton, Connecticut, prosecutors say.

“There is no mistaking the cyber vulnerabilities created when this company sold electronic surveillance products made in the [People's Republic of China], and then using those items in our government agencies and the branches of our armed forces,” said FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney.

FBI, Customs, IRS and other agents with various inspector general offices were seen executing a search warrant at the headquarters of Aventura Thursday morning. Earlier in the day, six current and former executives and employees were arrested, including "de facto owner" Jack Cabasso and his wife, CEO Frances Cabasso. Authorities also seized the Cabassos' 70-foot yacht. 

They are expected to appear in federal court in Brooklyn Thursday afternoon.

Some of the equipment sold was surveillance- and security-related technology for both United States government agencies and private customers.

The raid on Long Island involves dozens of investigators as containers of equipment need to be hauled away for examination. Trucks and other law enforcement vehicles could be seen as the search continues at Aventura.

A call to the company for comment was not immediately returned. The 20-year-old firm describes itself as a specialist in security technology, offering everything from X-ray scanners and turnstiles to license plate recognition software and system architecture services.

New Haven police said they have two people in custody in connection with the SUV stolen Wednesday night with two children inside.

The SUV was taken from outside Roberto Clemente school on Columbus Avenue.

A 14-year-old was driving the car, according to police. He was taken into custody on Thursday morning on a different warrant, police said.

An 18-year-old was also arrested, police said.

According to police, the children's mother got out of the SUV and left it running as she walked towards the school to pick up another child. The mother may not have entered the building and may have kept the SUV within her view.

The 14-year-old jumped into the car and took off, not realizing the children were inside, police said.

The teen eventually took the children out of the vehicle and left them by Rice Field, where they were found by a good Samaritan a short time later.

A New Haven police detective spotted the Mercedes SUV in New Haven later and recognized the driver as a 14-year-old wanted on an unrelated warrant. The detective was not able to stop the SUV, but officers located the teen this morning and took him into custody, police said.

The SUV was found in West Haven Thursday afternoon.

The 18-year-old was arrested on a warrant related to items stolen from the vehicle, according to police. Investigators are trying to determine if that teen was there when the SUV was stolen.

They wanted to dance.

They wanted to take a break from work or school.

In one of the safest cities in the United States, it didn't seem like a bar they'd have to worry about.

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It's been a year since the lives of 12 families were shattered Nov. 7, 2018, when a Marine combat veteran of the war in Afghanistan opened fire in the crowded Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks. 

Twelve people were killed, and then the gunman killed himself. 

Those who lived, 248 survivors, would have to learn how to move on from the tragedy and chaos in the year that followed. 

"It's as if you have your heart ripped out and there's a hole... it will stay that way," Susan Orfanos, mother of victim Telemachus, said.

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"We're still grieving," Jason Coffman said, whose son Cody was slain. "There's a lot of people who haven't come to cope with it yet. Then there's people like myself who have come to realize this is life now. This is the way it's got to be."

As the sun rose on the foggy morning of Nov. 7, 2019, mourners gathered at the Borderline Bar & Grill where a shrine to each life lost was adorned with flowers, art, plants and crosses.

"It’s a day we never want to repeat but one we never want to forget," said Mayor Rob McCoy, who hadn't set foot on the property since the attack.

"Our community was shattered here," he said.

Many affected by the shooting have noted they didn't have a chance to mourn, as a destructive wildfire erupted more than a dozen hours after the massacre.

"We didn’t have a chance to mourn. We did the vigil that evening and when I came back I was evacuated from my own house," McCoy said.

As the gunman entered the bar at 11:15 p.m. PT Nov. 7 , 2018, dressed in all black and armed to the teeth, chaos ensued. Patrons who had just been line-dancing began hurling bar stools through windows to escape.

Reports said they believe the gunman even fired on victims in bathroom stalls as they tried to flee.

First responders and victims charged the gunman in a last-ditch courageous effort to halt the barrage of bullets.

Ventura County Sheriff's Sgt. Ron Helus, a 29-year veteran who was soon to retire, was among those who ran toward the threat.

Telemachus Orfanos had survived the Route 91 mass shooting in Las Vegas the year before. But he wouldn't survive this one.

"My son came home. All those other people they can't say that," his mother Susan said of Vegas. "Thirteen months and six days later, Tel didn't come home."

Kristina Morisette greeted patrons at the Borderline Bar. 

As her parents mourn a year later, they encourage others to seek support. Mental health experts agree, saying the anniversary can sneak up on the community.

"They felt like 'Oh, I didn't need it,' but now that the one-year mark is coming up, they're really feeling the effects of it," said Kirsti Thompson, director of Give an Hour California.

It's unclear why the former machine gunner committed this atrocity.

"People will debate for years whether I’m sane or insane," his social media posts prior to the attack read, paraphrased by sources close to the investigation.

"Not a day goes by that we do not think about our friends and family who we have lost. This past year has been extremely difficult for all of us as a community, but together we have helped each other move forward and continue our healing process one day at a time. After that tragic night last November our Borderline family became stronger and closer than ever before," Borderline Bar & Grill staff said in a note posted to the website.

We're following the families' stories and checking in with them a year later, to hear about the struggles, kindness of strangers, and what life is like now.

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View more coverage and stories:

• Gallery: Learn more about the victims here.
• Portraits of the Fallen: These Are the Victims Killed in the Borderline Bar Shooting
• One Year Later, Army Veteran Recalls Friends' Heroic Last Moments During Borderline Shooting
• Events This Week: How Residents are Honoring Those Slain in the Borderline Bar Shooting One Year Later

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All across the country, college football has been celebrating the 150th anniversary of the sport. And while that may make you think of the rich history of Harvard or maybe the Yale Bulldogs will take you to Connecticut, there’s another local team that has a stake in football history fame.

Andrus Field sits at the center of Wesleyan University and the school’s record books boast it as the oldest continuously used football field in the country. The Cardinals started playing on that field in the 1880s, it was formally dedicated in the name of Wesleyan graduate John Emery Andrus in 1898.

Over the year’s teams have played to undefeated seasons, a NESCAC title, 15 Little Three championships and a few more unlikely victories: Wesleyan beat Michigan in 1883.

“We're not looking to play them anytime soon,” said Wesleyan Director of Athletics Mike Whalen.

That’s part of the more than 100 years of history Wesleyan doesn’t want to give up. Even when the school built a new turf field in 2013, the decision was to stay put. Instead the turf is used for football practice and lacrosse games.

“We just said, why would we do that?” Whalen said. “We have something no one else can duplicate.”

And that’s a field at the center of campus.

“You get students that are just walking by on their way to the library and stop and watch a football game,” said Whalen.

Possibly the only school where you can happen upon a football game, but that’s the norm at Wesleyan and it has been for more than 100 years.

“From here to 100 years ago, everyone has played on that field,” said senior defensive back Ben Thaw.

“No one else can really say that unless you went to Wesleyan,” said senior offensive lineman Ryan Schutta.

Wesleyan closes out the season with a rivalry match up at Trinity on Saturday, November 9 at 12 p.m.