Man charged in Connecticut mall shooting that wounded 5 as lawyer claims self-defense

A 19-year-old man was charged with assault and weapons crimes after he allegedly shot five people at a Connecticut mall during a dispute, authorities said Wednesday.

Tajuan Washington, who was free on $20,000 bail on unrelated motor vehicle charges, drove to police headquarters while officers were surveilling him and surrendered following Tuesday's shooting at the Brass Mill Center in Waterbury, city Police Chief Fernando Spagnolo said during a news conference.

The injuries were not life-threatening, officials said.

The shooting shortly after 4:30 p.m. sent mall patrons scrambling for safety. Dozens of law enforcement officers responded and searched the mall for hours. Police identified Washington on security video, seeing him leave the mall and drive away, then surveilled his home, Spagnolo said.

Washington was ordered detained on $2 million bond as he was arraigned in court Wednesday on charges including first-degree assault, criminal use of a weapon, illegal discharge of a firearm and risk of injury to children.

His lawyer, public defender Justin Chan, said he believed Washington was defending himself and added Washington had been traumatized by losing a relative to gun violence. Chan also said there were no convictions on Washington's record.

Lawrence Adler, a lawyer for Washington on the motor vehicle charges that include interfering with police, said Washington denies those allegations and called the case insignificant. He said he did not know much about the mall shooting.

“There’s nothing about his past to lead anyone to say this kid’s on a path to hurting people,” Adler said.

Waterbury Mayor Paul Pernerewski Jr. said three people have been discharged from the hospital and two were still being treated. The person most seriously injured, a woman who was shot in the spine, had regained some feeling in her extremities, and officials were hoping she isn't permanently paralyzed, he said.

Washington and a man who was with four young women got into a dispute, and Washington pulled a pistol, Pernerewski said.

“It was in effect two young men who knew each other, had a history and a past,” the mayor said.

The city was shaken but not broken, Pernerewski said.

“This is a strong city, and we are very much standing together in times of crisis," he said. "We support and we care for one another.”

Spagnolo did not release details of the dispute, saying it was not entirely clear but police had some idea what it was about.

Spagnolo said evidence indicated the shooter used a .40-caliber handgun, which had not been found. Police with a search warrant seized two rifles and found ammunition at Washington’s home that matched ammunition at the mall, Spagnolo said.

Police surveilling Washington’s home followed him as he drove to police headquarters to report he had been involved in the dispute, Spagnolo said.

It was shocking that a dispute that might have just been a fistfight became a shooting instead, Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont said at the news conference.

“Someone pulls out a semiautomatic and shoots seven rounds and badly wounds five people like that — just like that,” Lamont said.

Police and witnesses described the chaos of people crying and running, others locking themselves inside areas of the mall, and swarms of police searching for the shooter.

Jayvon Turner told WFSB-TV that one of the victims was bleeding heavily. “It was crazy, and I tried to tell everybody to get out of there," he said.

Court records show Washington was accepted into a probation program earlier this year for another set of charges, which have been sealed from public view under the state law for that program, which is generally for first-time offenders.

In October, local media reported that Washington was arrested by state police on allegations of driving more than 100 mph (160 kph) on Interstate 84 in Southington. State police said Washington sped away from a trooper who tried to pull him over, and the trooper ended the pursuit for safety reasons. He was later arrested when police traced the speeding car's registration to his home, troopers said.

The Brass Mill Center is off Interstate 84 in Waterbury, about 30 miles (about 50 kilometers) southwest of Hartford, the state capital. Spagnolo said police have used the mall for active shooter drills in the past, and that practice helped officers during the response.

This still image made from video provided by WFSB-TV shows armed police officers and a police truck outside of the Brass Mill Center in Waterbury, Conn., May 27, 2025. (WFSB-TV via AP)

This still image made from video provided by WFSB-TV shows the exterior of the Brass Mill Center in Waterbury, Conn., May 27, 2025. (WFSB-TV via AP)

Waterbury police and emergency first responders are at Brass Mill Center, where several people were shot on Tuesday afternoon, May 27, 2025, in Waterbury, Conn. (Jim Shannon/Hearst Connecticut Media via AP)

Waterbury police and emergency first responders are at Brass Mill Center, where several people were shot on Tuesday afternoon, May 27, 2025, in Waterbury, Conn. (Jim Shannon/Hearst Connecticut Media via AP)

Suspect Tajuan Washington was arraigned on Wednesday, May 28, 2025, in Waterbury Superior Court and has been charged with assault and weapons crimes in a shooting at the Brass Mill Center on Tuesday afternoon, May 27, in Waterbury, Conn. (Jim Shannon/Hearst Connecticut Media via AP)

Suspect Tajuan Washington was arraigned on Wednesday, May 28, 2025, in Waterbury Superior Court and has been charged with assault and weapons crimes in a shooting at the Brass Mill Center on Tuesday afternoon, May 27, in Waterbury, Conn. (Jim Shannon/Hearst Connecticut Media via AP)

Suspect Tajuan Washington, with public defender Justin Chan, during his arraignment Wednesday May 28, 2025, in Waterbury Superior Court and has been charged with assault and weapons crimes in a shooting at the Brass Mill Center on Tuesday afternoon, May 27, in Waterbury, Conn. (Jim Shannon/Hearst Connecticut Media via AP)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal agents carrying out immigration arrests in Minnesota's Twin Cities region already shaken by the fatal shooting of a woman rammed the door of one home Sunday and pushed their way inside, part of what the Department of Homeland Security has called its largest enforcement operation ever.

In a dramatic scene similar to those playing out across Minneapolis, agents captured a man in the home just minutes after pepper spraying protesters outside who had confronted the heavily armed federal agents. Along the residential street, protesters honked car horns, banged on drums and blew whistles in attempts to disrupt the operation.

Video of the clash taken by The Associated Press showed some agents pushing back protesters while a distraught woman later emerged from the house with a document that federal agents presented to arrest the man. Signed by an immigration officer, the document — unlike a warrant signed by a judge — does not authorize forced entry into a private residence. A warrant signed by an immigration officer only authorizes arrest in a public area.

Immigrant advocacy groups have conducted extensive “know-your-rights” campaigns urging people not to open their doors unless agents have a court order signed by a judge.

But within minutes of ramming the door in a neighborhood filled with single-family homes, the handcuffed man was led away.

More than 2,000 immigration arrests have been made in Minnesota since the enforcement operation began at the beginning of December, said Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told Fox News on Sunday that the administration would send additional federal agents to Minnesota to protect immigration officers and continue enforcement.

The Twin Cities — the latest target in President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement campaign — is bracing for what is next after 37-year-old Renee Good was shot and killed by an immigration officer on Wednesday.

“We’re seeing a lot of immigration enforcement across Minneapolis and across the state, federal agents just swarming around our neighborhoods,” said Jason Chavez, a Minneapolis city councilmember. “They’ve definitely been out here.”

Chavez, the son of Mexican immigrants who represents an area with a growing immigrant population, said he is closely monitoring information from chat groups about where residents are seeing agents operating.

People holding whistles positioned themselves in freezing temperatures on street corners Sunday in the neighborhood where Good was killed, watching for any signs of federal agents.

More than 20,000 people have taken part in a variety of trainings to become “observers” of enforcement activities in Minnesota since the 2024 election, said Luis Argueta, a spokesperson for Unidos MN, a local human rights organization .

“It’s a role that people choose to take on voluntarily, because they choose to look out for their neighbors,” Argueta said.

The protests have been largely peaceful, but residents remained anxious. On Monday, Minneapolis public schools will start offering remote learning for the next month in response to concerns that children might feel unsafe venturing out while tensions remain high.

Many schools closed last week after Good’s shooting and the upheaval that followed.

While the enforcement activity continues, two of the state’s leading Democrats said that the investigation into Good's shooting death should not be overseen solely by the federal government.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and U.S. Sen. Tina Smith said in separate interviews Sunday that state authorities should be included in the investigation because the federal government has already made clear what it believes happened.

“How can we trust the federal government to do an objective, unbiased investigation, without prejudice, when at the beginning of that investigation they have already announced exactly what they saw — what they think happened," Smith said on ABC’s "This Week."

The Trump administration has defended the officer who shot Good in her car, saying he was protecting himself and fellow agents and that Good had “weaponized” her vehicle.

Todd Lyons, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, defended the officer on Fox News Channel’s “The Sunday Briefing.”

"That law enforcement officer had milliseconds, if not short time to make a decision to save his life and his other fellow agents,” he said.

Lyons also said the administration’s enforcement operations in Minnesota wouldn't be needed “if local jurisdictions worked with us to turn over these criminally illegal aliens once they are already considered a public safety threat by the locals.”

The killing of Good by an ICE officer and the shooting of two people by federal agents in Portland, Oregon, led to dozens of protests in cities across the country over the weekend, including New York, Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and Oakland, California.

Contributing were Associated Press journalists Giovanna Dell’Orto in Minneapolis; Thomas Strong in Washington; Bill Barrow in Atlanta; Christopher Weber in Los Angeles; and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio.

A woman gets into an altercation with a federal immigration officer as officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A federal immigration officer deploys pepper spray as officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A family member, center, reacts after federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Bystanders are treated after being pepper sprayed as federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A family member reacts after federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Federal agents look on after detaining a person during a patrol in Minneapolis, Minn., Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)

Bystanders react after a man was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during a traffic stop, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Robbinsdale, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)

People stand near a memorial at the site where Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE agent, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)

A man looks out of a car window after being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during a traffic stop, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Robbinsdale, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Border Patrol agents detain a man, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

People shout toward Border Patrol agents making an arrest, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

Demonstrators protest outside the White House in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey holds a news conference on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)

Protesters react as they visit a makeshift memorial during a rally for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer earlier in the week, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)