The Office of the Inspector General has released videos that show a woman shooting inside of the Bristol police station lobby last week.
Investigators said 51-year-old Suzanne Laprise, of Plainville, entered the lobby of the Bristol Police Department on North Main Street around 11:30 p.m. on Thursday.
In the video, Laprise walks up to the front lobby desk office windows and bangs on them with a gun. The front lobby desk was not occupied at the time.
After banging on the windows multiple times, the video shows Laprise firing multiple rounds into the windows. The bullets did not go through the bullet-resistant glass.
The video then shows Laprise walking around the lobby before officers attempted to talk to her.
During the interaction, authorities said Laprise fired additional rounds in the direction of the officers. One officer returned fire and fired two shots.
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According to the Office of the Inspector General, the bullet-resistant glass stopped all rounds and nobody was hit.
Once Laprise put the gun down, officers entered the lobby and used a stun gun on her. She was then taken into custody.
Laprise was taken to Bristol Hospital for an evaluation. She was later released and returned to Bristol Police Department. She appeared in court on Friday morning for charges including criminal attempt to commit murder with special circumstances, carrying a firearm under the influence, unlawful discharge of a firearm, criminal use of a firearm, possession of a high capacity magazine, criminal mischief and breach of peace. She is due back in court on October 17.
Court documents say before the shooting Laprise went to a bar on North Main Street where she had a drink and a shot around 9:45 p.m. While there, the court documents said she told a woman outside of the bar that she had a gun on her and was going to go to the police department to tell them to kill her or she would shoot them.
The woman Laprise talked with told police that she offered advice to Laprise on where she could seek mental health treatment including going to the police department and asking them to help her.
Both the woman and Laprise agreed that Laprise should go home before Laprise drove off in the direction of the police station, the court documents said.
The woman then told the bar owner about the interaction, and he suggested they call the police. At the same time, court documents said another guy in the bar said Laprise had stopped her car in front of the police department.
According to investigators, Laprise does not have a valid pistol permit in the State of Connecticut and she has never applied for a pistol permit with the Bristol Police Department.
The Bristol Police Department lobby was closed for walk-in complaints on Friday to allow for repairs and maintenance after the shooting.
Authorities said the windows that were damaged in the shooting need to be replaced. The total amount of damage done is estimated to cost $26,000.
The investigation is ongoing by the Office of the Inspector General, the Connecticut State Police Central District Major Crime Squad, the New Britain State’s Attorney’s Office and the Bristol Police Department.
