Nazi flag, propaganda found inside Stamford home at center of standoff and shootout with police
Discovery adds new dimension to the violent standoff that shut down a quiet Stamford neighborhood Tuesday.
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Stamford police found Nazi paraphernalia and propaganda in the home of a 63-year-old man who police said killed himself after engaging them in an hourslong standoff and shootout Tuesday.
That’s in addition to the discovery of a decomposed body and explosives inside 263 Oaklawn Ave., which police previously announced at a news conference Wednesday.
On Thursday morning, with Oaklawn Avenue back open to traffic, News 12 got a close look at the home and was granted access to the back of the property. Part of the rear exterior had been torn off by police tactical vehicles to gain entry. Gaping holes on the second floor offered a look inside and perhaps, a window into who Jed Parkington was.
A Nazi flag was hanging on one wall. Another wall displayed a handwritten slogan used by Nazis during World War II: “Kapitulieren nein!” It translates to “no surrender.” A source told News 12 that was a fraction of the Nazi items inside.
There were also bottles outside the home that had been Molotov cocktails. Police said along with those, the home was booby-trapped with pipe bombs and grenades.
The incident began around 9:15 a.m. Tuesday when a state marshal went to evict Parkington and his wife, who bought the home in 2005. According to court records, the bank began foreclosure proceedings in 2018 after the couple failed to make their mortgage payments. The court proceedings went on for years with the judge awarding the home to the bank. Records show the Parkingtons owed over $700,000 with all the interest.
While fighting eviction, Parkington wrote a letter saying he suffered from brain cancer and long COVID. The letter also criticized his lawyers and banks. On Monday—one day before the final eviction date—Parkington’s wife made a last-minute plea to the judge to delay the eviction. She wrote about financial hardship and health issues that she and her husband had dealt with over the past decade. The letter noted she dealt with diabetes, depression and memory loss.
“They were in bad health. Both had some issues, health issues,” confirmed Jon Gallup, who lives around the block.
Ironically, Gallup said he’s a process server and had previously helped the Parkingtons evict people who were renting rooms from them.
“I knew them from doing eviction work for them. They had some residents living in their house,” Gallup stated.
It's unclear if perhaps one of those people was the concealed body police found on the second floor. Police said they are still working on an identification and could not comment on how the person died.
It is not Parkington’s wife. Police said she was able to leave unharmed Tuesday morning before Parkington barricaded himself in the home.
During the standoff, Parkington opened fire on two armored vehicles just before noon, according to police. They said over the course of the afternoon, officers and Parkington exchanged multiple rounds of gunfire.
Pictures show one of the vehicles riddled with dents, its windshield repeatedly pierced.
“I will tell you when the video comes out, you'll realize how close it was for that windshield to be penetrated, to the point we might've lost some officers’ lives,” said Chief Tim Shaw during the news conference.
Shaw stated that police entered the home after hearing a single gunshot and confirming with drones that Parkington was no longer alive.
An autopsy done Thursday found Parkington’s cause of death was “gunshot wound of the head and neck” and the manner was suicide, per the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
While Stamford police are handling the decomposed body, the Office of the Inspector General is investigating the standoff and shooting, which is state law when an officer discharges a weapon. Body camera footage is expected to be released by the office in the coming days.
News 12 was told a state contractor was on his way to the home Thursday evening to board it up.
PRIOR COVERAGE: Decomposed body found in Stamford shootout suspect's home
