Suspected drug-related shootings leave 2 dead, 1 injured in Vermont’s largest city

Two men were shot and killed Sunday night and a third was seriously injured early Monday in two separate, suspected drug-related shootings in Vermont’s largest city of Burlington, officials said.

The shootings happened on a busy night for police that first included a report of gunfire downtown and later an early morning arson fire in the vestibule of the police station, the chief and mayor said at a press briefing on Monday.

At the same time, Vermont State Police are investigating a spate of homicides around Vermont in recent months, many of which they suspect are drug-related.

“That these shootings, the killing of two people and the serious injuring of another appear to be not connected but both drug-related is a further indication that the nature of our drug crisis in Vermont has fundamentally changed and must become the state’s top public safety and public health priority,” Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger said.

In September, the Burlington City Council passed a resolution declaring the drug crisis its top public health and safety priority.

Burlington Police received calls at 9:13 p.m. Sunday about gunfire at an apartment on Decatur Street. When they arrived, they found two men shot in the head. One was dead and the other one died at the hospital, police said. Police identified the victims as Anthony Smith, 26, of Vergennes, and Khalif Jones, 27, of Stowe. Police believe Jones shot Smith and then suspect that he was shot by a third person, who has not been identified. Evidence of drug trafficking was found at the residence, said Police Chief Jon Murad.

Hours later, dispatchers received a call at 1:15 a.m. Monday from a man who said he had been shot in the foot as he was robbed of drugs by a group of people. Police do not believe that the shooting was connected to the double slaying on Sunday night, Murad said.

Then at 2 a.m., a man started a fire in the vestibule of the Burlington Police Department building, police said. The 62-year-old suspect, who is believed to be experiencing homelessness and has had many interactions with police, was arrested Monday morning, Murad said. Because of the smoke, the dispatch center had to be temporarily moved to South Burlington.

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Rathke reported from Marshfield, Vt.