Bridgeport teen arrested on illegal gun possession charges

A Bridgeport teen was arrested on charges of possessing an illegal and stolen gun following a police chase.
Police say 19-year-old Stanley Gill led undercover officers on a foot-chase through the neighborhood.
Authorities say the chase ended when Capt. Brian Fitzgerald spotted Gill inside an auto-repair shop, hiding beneath a vehicle as if he were working on it.
Gill had a Glock semi-automatic handgun, police say, loaded with hollow-point bullets meant to cause serious internal injuries.
At 3 p.m. Thursday, police shut down Stratford Avenue as dozens of officers helped secure the crime scene.
This arrest comes from a joint effort between state police and the FBI. Police say the section of Stratford Avenue in the East End of Bridgeport has long been plagued by murders, armed robberies and other violent crimes. That's why they've partnered up with the FBI to clean the area up, they say.
Police Chief AJ Perez says the undercover operation yielded excellent results. "We're trying to prevent these things from happening by taking these guns and violent individuals off the street," he says.
Curtis Rushing, a resident in the area, says he agrees that the street is very dangerous and the officers’ efforts are effective. “What they're doing so far, it's a start, it's a great idea,” he says.
However, Rushing says he believes sweeping the streets isn’t the only solution to stop crime in the area. "I think mentoring would be much more effective than actually sweeping.”
As police continue efforts like this one, Rushing says his hope is that a dual strategy involving both police work and social work will change Stratford Avenue. "If we did more for our communities and at the same time kept cleaning up the streets, then I think this would be a perfect project and everyone would be happy with the results,” he says.
Gill’s bond was set at $250,000.

Police say their undercover operations along Stratford Avenue will continue.