Police: Man Brandishes Firearm During Road Rage Incident

A Naugatuck man was arrested Thursday after allegedly waving a pistol in someone's direction in the parking lot at Great Hill Plaza in Oxford earlier in the day.

Ricardo Ortiz, 30, of 59 Wisteria Lane, got into an argument with someone after a road rage incident and pulled out a handgun for which he had a permit, Oxford Resident Trooper Sgt. Dan Semosky said.

Nobody was injured, and Ortiz did not pull the trigger. Police said it was unclear whether the gun was loaded during the incident, which occurred around 11:30 a.m.

Someone with direct knowledge of the incident told Patch that Ortiz attempted to exit the plaza via the entrance. A person attempting to enter the plaza the correct way threw his hands up; Ortiz put his car in reverse, approached the person in the parking lot and asked whether he had a problem before pulling out the pistol, the person told Patch. 

Semosky said Ortiz admitted he had been involved in an altercation in Oxford, and that police found a handgun in his car that matched a description of the one used in the incident.

Oxford troopers went to the home Thursday afternoon with Naugatuck police.

"We were very careful because we had reports that he had a weapon," Semosky said.

Ortiz was arrested without incident and charged with reckless endangerment, threatening and breach of peace.