Police arrest man with crossbow in Meriden

MERIDEN, Connecticut – Meriden police received several 911 calls around 5 p.m. Wednesday regarding a man walking down Main Street with a rifle, police said in a news release.

According to police, he was carrying a backpack, a bulletproof vest, a rifle over his shoulder and a beer. Police later learned that the weapon was actually a crossbow.

The man told people in a parking lot that they should “kill themselves.” He was “waiting for the police,” the press release said.

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Officers and detectives found the man walking in the middle of Hanover Avenue and stopped traffic in all directions to ensure public safety. The man was given several commands to stop and keep his hands visible, but he did not follow them, police said.

Officers identified the man as Tyler Dowd, who reportedly had multiple warrants for his arrest. After Dowd continued to ignore police and walked toward a residential area, police tackled him to the ground and took him into custody, police said.

At this point, police determined that the supposed rifle was actually a crossbow with a folding stock. The crossbow was removed from a distance and from a distance, the crossbow looked like a rifle.

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Inside Dowd’s backpack was an Orange Orion flare gun with a modified 12-caliber cartridge that had been hollowed out and apparently repackaged with glass and other debris. Police said Dowd was arrested by the Wallingford Police Department on May 28 with a similar flare gun.

Dowd, who has a restraining order prohibiting him from possessing firearms, was given medical treatment at the scene and then transported to the Meriden Police Department and charged.

Dowd is charged with illegal possession of a firearm, carrying a dangerous weapon, violating a restraining order, obstructing a police officer and disturbing the peace, police said. His bail is set at $500,000.

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According to police, Dowd had warrants out for second-degree failure to appear, with bail set at $2,500, and first-degree failure to appear, with bail set at $150,000. A third-degree warrant for first-degree failure to appear was out for bail set at $25,000.

Dalton Zbierski is a digital content producer and writer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at [email protected].

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