Vermont State Police are investigating to piece together what led to a fatal shooting early Tuesday morning in Royalton that they say they are “treating” as a homicide.
Vermont State Police Maj. Dan Trudeau, head of the state police criminal division, said in a press briefing late Tuesday afternoon that troopers were called to a reported altercation at a home on 4497 Route 14 around 2:45 a.m. Tuesday.
Soon after, he said, police received reports of gunshots.
Arriving troopers found two men outside the home, Trudeau said, both suffering from apparent gunshot wounds.
One of the men, George Sun, 41, was dead at the scene, according to the major, and the other, a 26-year-old man, was transported to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire.
“At this point we are treating it as a homicide,” Trudeau said.
Sun’s body was expected to be taken to the Vermont Chief Medical Examiner’s office in Burlington where an autopsy was set to take place Wednesday.
Trudeau said Tuesday the 26-year-old man, who police are not identifying because his family had yet to be reached, had been in the intensive care unit of the hospital and was in critical condition.
The major said he was still trying to determine why the two men were both at the Royalton home, and it still wasn’t clear if they may have lived there.
Turdueu said he didn’t know exactly where Sun was living. “He’s got a couple different addresses,” the major said. He said the 26-year-old also had a couple different addresses.
“They’re from what has been described as local Vermonters,” he said, adding that he still wasn’t sure if either, or both, lived at the house as authorities seek to talk to the homeowner.
“I can’t elaborate too deeply,” Trudeau added of the investigation during the press briefing at the Royalton state police barracks. “We do have a couple men here that we’re speaking to who were involved in the investigation, but I won’t get into details and their identification either.”
Asked if he would term the two men at the barracks as witnesses, Trudeau replied, “I would only classify them as being involved in the incident and I can’t elaborate any further.”
The major did say there have been no arrests in connection with the investigation. He said police do not believe there is a threat to public safety.
Also, asked if the 26-year-old man who was injured in the incident is a possible suspect in the case, the major said, “I couldn’t say that right now. We haven’t had a chance to actually speak to him to learn what his involvement was, only because he’s just recently came out of surgery so he’s not in a position where we’d be able to talk to him today.”
The major did describe the 26-year-old man and Sun as “friends.”
Trudeau said that detectives conducting the investigation are taking precautions to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
“I can say there is a little bit of a challenge but we’ll overcome the challenge,” he said. “Instead of showing up immediately at somebody’s’ door to interview, or a neighborhood canvas, we may just try to call people ahead of time.”
And for those people not comfortable with talking to police in person those conversations could take place over the phone, Trudeau said.
The initial call reporting the incident to police came from an ex-girlfriend of Sun, who was not at the residence, he said.
Asked how she knew what was going on at the home, the major replied, “We’re still trying to determine all of that.”
