WOODSTOCK — Vermont State Police are looking for a 45-year-old resident of Woodstock in connection with the shooting death of an unidentified man at 13 Slayton Terrace at around 1:20 p.m. Tuesday.
Maj. Dan Trudeau, commander of the state police Criminal Division, said at a news conference Tuesday evening that police were looking for Jay Wilson, 45, who lives at that address, but were uncertain of his whereabouts.
“We consider him a suspect in this case,” Trudeau said.
As of 6 p.m., Trudeau said, police believed Wilson was still in the house, but they couldn’t rule out that he had slipped out and was on the run.
He recommended residents continue to stay in their homes with their doors locked as earlier police statements had encouraged.
“I really wouldn’t be walking the street around the Slayton Terrace area,” Trudeau said. “Mr. Wilson could be agitated. Do not approach him.”
Other than the man who was shot and Wilson, Trudeau said one other person had been in the home at the time of the incident but that person escaped by running away.
Police were withholding the names of others involved pending notification of relatives.
Police had several witnesses, Trudeau said, and officers were busy interviewing them.
Several neighbors who declined to give their names said the homeowner had been taken to the hospital as a precaution, but Trudeau said he didn’t know of any injuries to officers or anybody else involved at the scene.
Trudeau said Wilson had no known criminal history but there had been previous encounters between Wilson and the man who was killed.
Authorities first learned of the incident when Woodstock Police Department officers responded to reports of a shooting outside the Slayton Terrace home.
As the Woodstock officer reached the body and confirmed the man was dead, the officer said heard gunshots and fired toward the house.
“The officer perceived shots in his direction coming from the house,” Trudeau said. “The officer returned fire.”
It was not known if any of the shots fired by the officer struck Wilson, who Trudeau said was last seen standing in the doorway of the home.
At that time a second officer arrived and the pair retreated to safety and set up a perimeter as additional local and regional officers arrived.
“His whereabouts at this time are unknown,” Trudeau said of Wilson. “It’s a possibility that he may have gotten out of the house before a perimeter was secured by law enforcement. We want the public to be aware of Mr. Wilson.”
Dozens of law enforcement officers from Woodstock, Hartford, the Windsor County Sheriff’s Department and state police responded, including the state police Tactical Services Unit and Crisis Negotiation Unit.
As of 8 p.m., troopers were using a drone and loudspeakers to try to reach Wilson, who they believed was still inside the home, while other officers from various agencies patrolled the streets around the area.
In the early stages, troopers were seen parked along roads leading out of Woodstock as far east as Hartford near the on-ramp to Interstate 89.
A little after 4:30 p.m. a tactical services vehicle arrived along with the state police command post.
A school, hotel and many other businesses shut down, including Mac’s Woodstock Market and the Cumberland Farms, where employees said they were told to shut down until the situation was resolved and had to turn away customers.
Nearby, Maplefields was doing brisk business.
Slayton Terrace is located just south of Central Street, or Route 4, which is the main road through this town that draws tourists throughout the year.
Roads into and out of the area of Slayton Terrace and Lincoln Street were blocked off, and police ordered residents to shelter in place or evacuate.
Resident Chris Miller and his wife were in their home very close to the scene when they heard what sounded like it may have been gunshots.
Miller said a state trooper came to their home and told them to either get into the basement or to leave. They chose to leave but at 6:45 p.m. were still standing at the intersection of Lincoln Street and Route 4, unable to return home.
Many residents returned every couple of hours hoping to go home only to be told there was no estimate for when they would be allowed to return.
Trudeau said he couldn’t give a time frame because the Crisis Negotiation Unit would be trying to make contact while awaiting a search warrant, which could take hours, so a team with the Tactical Services Unit could enter.
Police ask that anyone with information about Wilson’s whereabouts is asked to call the Vermont State Police in Royalton at 802-234-9933, or leave an anonymous tip at https://vsp.vermont.gov/tipsubmit.
Darren Marcy can be reached at dmarcy@vnews.com or 802-291-4992.