NEW BRITAIN, Conn.— A Connecticut woman was sentenced Tuesday to 12 years in prison after firing multiple gunshots inside the lobby of the Bristol Police Department in 2023, an incident that ended without injuries thanks to bulletproof glass and quick police response.
Suzanne Laprise, 53, of Plainville, pleaded guilty in February to attempted first-degree assault in connection with the October 2023 shooting. She was originally charged with attempted murder and several other offenses.
According to police, Laprise entered the department’s lobby visibly distressed, intoxicated, and armed with a 9 mm pistol. Surveillance footage showed her firing three rounds at the front desk windows and two more at an interior door behind which officers were standing. One officer returned fire, but all bullets were stopped by the department’s bulletproof glass.
Laprise eventually placed her weapon on the ground, at which point officers deployed a Taser and took her into custody. No injuries were reported.
“She’s a 53-year-old with no prior record who had a lot of stressors in her life,” said public defender Christopher Eddy. “She had financial stress. She had mental health stress. She has a disabled child. And she wanted to kill herself that night.”
Eddy credited the professionalism of the Bristol police for handling the situation without escalation.
The gun used in the incident belonged to Laprise’s boyfriend at the time, a retired New York City police officer.
The shooting occurred a year after a tragic ambush in which two Bristol police officers were killed responding to a domestic violence call. State Inspector General Robert Devlin Jr. later ruled that the officer who fired at Laprise acted appropriately under the circumstances.
Neither Laprise nor any officers spoke during Tuesday’s sentencing in New Britain Superior Court.