Hartford homicide detectives are investigating after a male was killed Sunday night.

Police say a male victim suffering from a gunshot wound was found in a car in the area of 45 Bedford Street around 5:30 p.m. He was taken to St. Francis Hospital where he died of his injuries.

Homicide detectives are currently investigating. There are no suspects at this time. This is the 12th homicide of the year for the city.

Thousands of firefighters from around the state and around the country came to say goodbye to fallen Harford firefighter Kevin Bell on Monday.

A solemn procession began outside The First Cathedral on Blue Hills Avenue in Bloomfield around 10 a.m. Bagpipes played as a fire truck carried Bell's casket to the church.

Bell, 48, was one of the first to enter the burning building at 598 Blue Hills Avenue in Hartford last week. He was pulled from the home in cardiac arrest and pronounced dead.

Bell is the first Hartford firefighter to die on duty in 40 years, the city is in mourning and the mayor of Hartford wants to formally rename Engine 16 on Blue Hills Avenue as the Kevin Lamont Bell Fire Station.

Segarra said Bell graduated from Weaver High School, worked for the Hartford Public School system, and joined the Hartford Fire Department in 2008, according to the mayor.

“Kevin was not only a brave and dedicated Firefighter, but he was devoted to the Hartford community. He was affiliated with several sports leagues and was a wrestling coach at Cheney Technical School,” Segarra said in his letter to the city council. “His death while fighting a residential fire makes him a hero to us all. I therefore recommend that Engine Company 16 be renamed in his honor.”

Bell began his career later in life, but family members said he had the energy and ambition of a much younger man.

“Kevin was 20 years older than half his class, and Kevin was actually performing like someone who was 21 years old,” his younger sister, Torraine Bell-Grime said, adding that her brother would go out of his way to complete extra tests just because he could – and ace them every time.

“Kevin was a perfectionist at everything he did, and he always had to be number one,” she said. “If he didn’t get it right, he’d go back and do it a thousand times until he got it right.”

Bell leaves behind two other siblings, a wife and 22-year-old daughter, Rocky, who has already claimed his car – perhaps in an effort to keep him close and bring her dad’s memory wherever she goes.

Several roads will be closed for the funeral from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and again from noon to 12:30 p.m., including Blue Hills Avenue, from Wintonbury to Cottage Road; and Cottage Grove, from Blue Hills to the Windsor line.  

A memorial fund has been set up in Kevin Bell's honor. To donate, visit the Hartford Firefighters Credit Union at 776 Maple Avenue in Hartford, or send donations to:

Kevin L. Bell Memorial Family Fund
C/O Hartford Firefighters Survivors' Fund
Farmington Bank
669 Hebron Avenue
Glastonbury, CT 06033

An ill passenger sparked fears of Ebola exposure at Los Angeles International Airport Sunday until it was determined she did not have the deadly virus.

The woman, who arrived about 1:30 p.m. on a United Airlines flight from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, had flu-like symptoms with vomiting, Los Angeles County health officials said.

A hazardous materials crew responded to Flight 703, which had been diverted to a remote gate on the airport’s west end.

After questioning the passenger about her travel history and checking her symptoms, health officials determined that the passenger did not have Ebola. She was checked out at the airport, but refused medical treatment and was not taken to the hospital, LAX police said.

"There is no risk of Ebola infection to any of the passengers or crew on the flight," the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said in a statement.

The passenger, described as a woman in her 20s, had been to South Africa, not the area of western Africa where the Ebola virus has been rampant, Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Jaime Moore said.

The woman appeared to be air sick.

"It has turned out that there was some miscommunication - that this patient had been to the continent of Africa, but not near West Africa," Moore said. "As a matter of fact, it was South Africa. The patient has been ill on flights before and got ill on this flight. There is no reason to believe this person has been exposted to an Ebola virus."

Forty LAFD firefighters and paramedics, along with airport police, LA County health officials and FBI agents, responded to the incident.

"They put her in the back in the galley area and kept all other passengers away from her when they realized she was sick," said another passenger. "The pilot came on and said that two agencies were fighting over how it was going to be dealt with, which is why we were sitting there for so long."

After more than two hours on the tarmac, passengers were escorted off the plane when officials learned it was a false alarm.

"The flight attendant would turn up with a mask over her face and walk down the aisle rapidly, and everybody would look panicked, and then she would come back without it. So there seemed to be a lot of confusion," another passenger said.

The scare comes less than a week after another passenger at LAX was rushed to the hospital in an Ebola scare. The passenger, who had traveled from Liberia, was checked out at Centinela Hospital Medical Center in Inglewood on Wednesday and was released Friday.

Despite some criticism by frustrated passengers on the plane, Moore said the response to Sunday's Ebola scare was a well-rehearsed procedure put in place after flaws were revealed in the emergency response to last year's LAX shooting that left one TSA officer dead.

"Since last November's shooting, the Los Angeles Fire Department and LAWA (Los Angeles World Airports) has worked very, very closely in establishing procedures as to how we're going to handle incidents at the airport," he said.

Gadi Schwartz contributed to this report.

Fifteen people suffered minor injuries when a tour bus failed to stop and caused a chain-reaction crash on Interstate 95 southbound in Old Lyme early Sunday evening, according to state police.

State police said the crash happened just before 4:30 p.m. between exits 71 and 70 in heavy traffic.

The 15 injured people were taken to the Shoreline Clinic in Westbrook.

The left lane of I-95 was closed in the area for around three hours and four vehicles were towed.

State police identified the tour bus company as Blue Sky Bus Tours out of Syosset, New York.

Hartford Firefighter Kevin Lamont Bell died in the line of duty last week while battling a house fire in the city’s North End and Mayor Pedro Segarra wants to make sure that Bell’s name and legacy will never be forgotten.

He plans to submit a resolution to the Hartford City Council to formally rename Engine 16 on Blue Hills Avenue as the Kevin Lamont Bell Fire Station.

Bell was the first Hartford firefighter to die in the line of duty in 40 years.

“Kevin Bell was born and raised in the City of Hartford. In addition to being a firefighter, he was an active member of his community. Today we join together to honor and mourn the loss of one of our own. He lost his life so that others could be saved. For that he will always be a Hartford hero and will not be forgotten,” Segarra said.

The funeral service for Bell takes place this morning in Bloomfield.

Bell graduated from Weaver High School, worked for the Hartford Public School system, and joined the Hartford Fire Department in 2008, according to the mayor.

After graduating from the Fire Training Academy, he worked for the City of Hartford in Engine Companies 11, 14, and 16.

“Kevin was not only a brave and dedicated Firefighter, but he was devoted to the Hartford community. He was affiliated with several sports leagues and was a wrestling coach at Cheney Technical School,” Segarra said in his letter to the city council. “His death while fighting a residential fire makes him a hero to us all. I therefore recommend that Engine Company 16 be renamed in his honor.”

Segarra said he intends to submit the resolution in time for the regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, October 14.
 

The average price of gasoline in Connecticut is around $3.50, but a few gas stations are selling regular unleaded at $3.02 per gallon.

According to GasBuddy.com, a Web site that finds the lowest gas prices in the United States and Canada, the cheapest gas in Connecticut is $3.02 at Sam's Club, at 76 Rowley Street and Berlin Turnpike in Newington, Citgo, at 109 Berlin Turnpike near Deming Road in Berlin and Citgo, at     2407 Berlin Turnpike near Brockett Street in Newington. 

All weekend, people have been lining up at the Citgo stations on the Berlin Turnpike.

One year ago at this time, the average for a gallon of gas was $3.67.

The price drop is being driven by the latest round of falling oil prices, according to the Lundberg Survey. http://www.lundbergsurvey.com/
 

Former President Bill Clinton will be in Hartford tonight to support Gov. Dannel Malloy, who is running for re-election, as well as the Connecticut Democrats.

On Wednesday, President Barack Obama will be in Connecticut to attend a campaign rally for Malloy. The event will be in Bridgeport and its the first public political appearance by the president in this fall election campaign.

A Quinnipiac University poll released earlier this week put Malloy in a dead heat with Republican Tom Foley.

When asked whom they'd support if the election were today, 43 percent of voters participating in the poll said Malloy, 43 percent said Foley and 9 percent said petitioning candidate Joe Visconti.

A Sept. 10 Quinnipiac Poll gave Foley a six-percentage point lead over Malloy.
 

Bridgeport police detectives have charged a city man with first-degree manslaughter in connection with a fatal hit-and-run crash on Aug. 9.

Dennis Berrios, 36, surrendered to police after learning there was a warrant for his arrest, police said.

He is accused of hitting Tyron Tate, 21, with his Chevrolet Avalanche as Tate was crossing the street with another man on Noble Avenue, then leaving the scene.

Tate later was pronounced dead at Bridgeport Hospital, police said.

Police said they found a large crowd at the scene and authorities reviewed video footage from a nearby business.  This led to police identifying Berrios as a possible suspect and Officer Paul Nikola located Berrios and his car on Park Avenue the next day.

When he spoke with detectives, Berrios initially denied being involved in the hit-and-run, but acknowledged that he was involved after police told him about the evidence against him, police said.

Berrios told police that Tate and his friends were the aggressors after they threw rocks at his vehicle following an ongoing dispute. Other witnesses told police that Berrios intentionally swerved his vehicle toward Tate.

Berrios was immediately charged with a count of evading responsibility and manslaughter charges were filed on Friday.

He also faces attempted first-degree manslaughter and criminal mischief charges.
 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will host a press briefing at 11 a.m. CT Monday to provide an update on the investigation of the Ebola virus in the United States and West Africa, officials said.

CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden and Texas Department of State Health Services Commissioner Dr. David Lakey will lead the briefing, which follows Sunday's confirmation by the CDC that a Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital health care worker in Dallas tested positive for Ebola.

The worker provided care for Thomas Eric Duncan, the Ebola patient who recently died, during his second visit to the hospital, officials said.

"At some point there was a breach in protocol and that breach in protocol resulted in this infection," Frieden said.

Texas Christian University Communications Director Lisa Albert released a statement Sunday evening confirming the Ebola patient graduated from the university in 2010 with a bachelor's degree in nursing.

"At this point, TCU has no reason to believe this alum has been on campus recently," Albert's statement continued. "We ask everyone to please keep this 2010 alum in your thoughts and prayers during this time."

Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said the health care worker lives in an apartment complex in the 3700 block of Marquita Avenue. Rawlings said Dallas-Fire Rescue crews have cleaned and decontaminated open areas of the complex, and crews were seen later in the day carrying drums of contaminated material from the patient's apartment.

A reverse 911 call went out at 7:15 a.m. Sunday to alert neighbors. Rawlings also said informational materials about the virus were placed on peoples' doors in the area.

"The level of her symptoms, and indications from the test itself suggest the level of the virus that she had is low," Frieden said.

Rawlings said there is a pet dog inside the apartment and that they will contact the proper authorities and "have a plan to take care of the pet."

Texas Department of State Health Services said "contact tracing" has begun. Health officials interviewed the health care worker and are identifying any other contacts or potential exposures.

"We knew a second case could be a reality, and we've been preparing for this possibility," Lakey said. "We are broadening our team in Dallas and working with extreme diligence to prevent further spread."

The Hartford community came together to honor a firefighter Sunday night who was killed in the line of duty.

Kevin Bell died Tuesday while battling a blaze in the north end of Hartford on Tuesday and he will be laid to rest on Monday. People have dropped off flowers and mementoes outside the Blue Hills firehouse throughout the week, and on Sunday love and support continued to pour in as those who knew Bell remembered him.

"He put his life on the line that he may save someone else's life. So therefore, his legacy will live on," Daphne Daniels said.

Bell's daughter Racquel lit the first candle in honor of her father, and his wife spoke briefly, offering words of appreciation for the community's support.

"To each and every one of you, thank you I love you all. I'm just so grateful for everybody," Wayatte Statham-Bell said.

Flags have been flying at half staff around the state to honor him and remained that way per Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's request throughout the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation's annual National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend in Maryland on Saturday and Sunday.

The vigil for Bell was held at the Community Center at Chappelle Gardens in Hartford on Sunday at 7 p.m. Funeral services Monday will be at First Cathedral Church in Bloomfield and there will be a processional starting in South Windsor at about 9 a.m.

Interstate 91 North is congested between exits 25 and 26 in Wethersfield after a crash.

The road was closed but has since reopened.

Crews from the West Haven Fire Department were traveling in the area, on their way to the funeral for Hartford Firefighter Kevin Bell, when they came upon the crash and stopped to assist.

Bell died last week while battling a blaze in the north end of Hartford last week. http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/Hartford-Community-Holds-Vigil-for-Fallen-Firefighter-278950631.html

A man was shot to death by police Sunday at his home in Ludlow, Maine, during an investigation into an armed home invasion.

Maine State Police say that Sgt. Joshua Haines shot 52-year-old Alan Gillotti Sr. outside a mobile home on Smyna Townline Road.

Troopers were investigating an incident that took place earlier Sunday in Bridgewater.

The Maine Attorney General's Office is investigating the shooting.

Haines is on administrative leave with pay.

A 2-year-old Meriden boy was killed in a four-vehicle crash on Interstate 95 South in Waterford just before 7 p.m. on Sunday. 

Traffic was backed up because of a couple previous crashes when a truck for Gold Medal Bakery in Fall River, Massachusetts hit Baughnita Leary, 25, of Meriden's car as she was slowing for traffic stopped in front of her near exit 81, state police said.

Police said the truck driver, Gerard Dube, 58, of Swansea, Massachusetts, hit Leary's car driven and Decari Robinson, a 2-year-old boy who was in the car, was pronounced dead at the scene.

After hitting Leary's car, Dube hit a car driven by Peter Driscoll, 21, as well as one driven by Steven Loller, 26, of Oakdale, according to state police.  

Leary suffered a possible head injury and two of his passengers, Sanaa Robinson, 9, of Meriden, and Darin Robinson, 26, of Meriden, suffered serious injuries. Baughnita Leary and Darin Robinson were transferred from Lawrence & Memorial Hospital in New London to Yale-New Haven hospital.

Driscoll suffered a possible injury, police said and his passengers, Bradley Brown, 21, of New London, was also injured.

Brown suffered a possible broken arm and Loller had possible neck and back injuries.

Dube was shaken up, but was noy injured, police said. 

Police are investigating.

Samples of antibodies from new Ebola survivors are heading to a lab in La Jolla, California, for analysis and the lab director is asking for the public’s help to fund the process.

Scripps Research Institute Professor Dr. Erica Ollman Saphire and her team are on the front lines to help find a cure for Ebola, which is believed to have killed more than 4,000 people in West Africa.

On Monday, the World Health Organization called the Ebola outbreak "the most severe, acute health emergency seen in modern times."

Saphire and her team worked with a global consortium of researchers to create the ZMapp drug, considered to be the most promising experimental drug against Ebola.

The Sorrento Valley lab Mapp Bio used the images created at Scripps to come up with the experimental drug used to treat Ebola survivors Dr. Kent Brantley and Nancy Writebol. It has also been used on an English nurse, a Spanish priest and two Liberian doctors who contracted Ebola. The priest and one of the doctors died despite receiving the treatment.

“Right now we are at war. It's a crisis there are thousands of cases there are not enough beds, it has come here, and it will come again,” Saphire said.

Saphire is anticipating the shipment of hundreds of antibodies from people all over the world who have survived the Ebola virus infection this year.

“We need to know what those antibodies are. Why do these people survive and what we can learn from that?" Saphire said.

Saphire has launched a crowdfunding page with the goal of boosting staff and upgrading equipment because she expects the amount of material she will soon receive to outpace the lab's current capabilities. Her goal is to raise $100,000 for a Fast Protein Liquid Chromatography machine.

“We need a new FPLC it's most important workhorse in the lab. What we do here is look at the shapes of the proteins, how they're folded. How the antibodies get the virus," she explained.

The CDC describes ZMapp as a combination of three different monoclonal antibodies that bind to the protein of the Ebola virus.

There is no current supply of the drug. Experts warn it still must undergo testing in humans for safety and effectiveness.

State of Connecticut flags have been flying at half-staff to remember a fallen Hartford firefighter since last week and will remain that way until sunset Monday.

Thousands of firefighters and family and friends of fallen Hartford firefighter Kevin Bell, 48, gathered to say goodbye to him Monday at memorial proceedings and he was laid to rest late morning.

Bell was killed while battling a blaze last Tuesday that also injured three other firefighters. It's the first time in 40 years that the city of Hartford has lost a firefighter.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy directed state flags to return to full-staff at sunset Monday.

Interstate 84 West in New Britain has reopened after a car fire Monday, according to state police.

The highway was shut down earlier for a short time between exits 37 and 36 while firefighters put out the flames.  There is no word on any injuries.
 

Police are responding to what they are calling a minor crash on Interstate 84 East in West Hartford.

The crash is near exit 40.
 

@NBCConnecticut exit 40 on 84 east. pic.twitter.com/TYAyxD8mi2

— Adam Provost (@aprovost6) October 13, 2014

Crews are responding to a water main break on Route 66 in Middletown.

The water main break was reported at about 3:27 p.m.

Four lanes are down to a single lane on Route 66 with traffic alternating back and forth near the intersection with Bernie O'Rourke Drive in front of Meineke.

The Middletown water department is on scene assessing damage and making repairs.

There is no word on how long the repairs will take or the lane closures will last.

Police are asking for help to find the man who posed as a guest at a Connecticut wedding and stole a newlywed couple’s wedding gifts.

The couple was holding a reception at the Longshore Inn in Westport when a man stole a bird cage filled with several wedding cards for the couple, police said.

Officers responded around 7 p.m. to investigate and determined that the man was posing either as a guest at the reception or the hotel and was seen loitering in the lobby of the inn and talking on the phone before grabbing the birdcage and walking out, police said.

Police set up a perimeter, brought in a K9 unit and searched the grounds, but only found the empty bird cage.

Now police are trying to identify the man seen in the lobby.

He is clean shaven, between 25 and 35 years old, has close cropped light brown hair and was wearing gray slacks, a white or light gray shirt and a white undershirt.

If you have information on him, call the Westport Police Department at 203-341-6000.
 

Seven people were taken to the hospital and one was airlifted to Yale-New Haven Hospital after a seven-vehicle crash on Interstate 95 South in Waterford involving a tractor-trailer on Sunday night.

Saumya Arora, 33, suffered incapacitating injuries after a tractor trailer carrying frozen food struck the car she was a passenger in and hit two others, causing collisions with two other cars south of exit 82, State Police said.

State Police responded at 7:28 p.m. on Sunday. A  tractor-trailer driven by Kevin Custer, 60, of Swansea, Massachusetts, collided with three cars driven by Vikram Dhawan, 39, of New York, New York, Cheryl Laffey, 59, of Waterford, and Jason Grant, 38, of Attleboro, Massachusetts, State Police said. Grant's car then struck a fifth vehicle driven by Adam Miller, of North Port, Florida, who made contact with a sixth car driven by Andrew Southard, 32, of Allentown, Pennsylvania, according to State Police. Southard's car hit a seventh vehicle that Gabriela Cajal, 44, was driving, State Police said.

Dhawan, the driver of the car Arora was in, also had possible injuries, as well as Laffey, driving the third vehicle hit, and her passenger David Laffey, 44.

It's unclear who else was transported to the hospital with possible injuries.

Southard, the driver of the sixth vehicle, had family members in the car with him at the time of the crash, including Samantha Southard, 30, and 1-year-old Catherine Southard, according to State Police. Marcela Cajal, 47, and Maya Champignon, 7, were passengers in the last car hit that Cajal was driving.

State Police did not say whether anyone in Grant's, Miller's, Southard's and Cajal's cars were injured.

I-95 was closed from 9:30 p.m. Monday to 6:20 a.m. Monday.

Waterford police and State Police's collision analysis reconstruction team and truck squad also responded.

State Department of Transportation and Department of Energy and Environmental Protection officials and an environmental contractor came to the scene to clean up "spilled fluids," according to State Police.

Authorities notified the Department of Consumer protection that the tractor-trailer involved in the crash was carrying frozen food products, State Police said.