A man who allegedly shot at police multiple times before turning the gun on himself during a standoff at a home in Stamford this week — where authorities later found a decomposing body — was clad in Nazi garb with disturbing messages inscribed on the walls of the home.
When a state marshal first arrived at the Oaklawn Avenue home in the morning hours on Tuesday in connection with an eviction, 63-year-old Jed Parkington allegedly pushed his wife out of the door and barricaded himself in the home, Richard Conklin, assistant chief of the Stamford Police Department, told Connecticut Public Radio.
Conklin said Parkington was reportedly wearing camouflage with Nazi symbolism.
Police responded to the home shortly before 9:20 a.m. when they received a 911 call, according to Stamfrd police Chief Timothy Shaw.
The department’s Special Response Team and Hostage Negotiation Team responded to the home. Five officers with the SRT team approached the home in a BearCat vehicle before Parkington reportedly opened fire on them with a high-powered rifle, Shaw said, adding that the bullets were very close to penetrating the windshield before the team got to safety.
“They’re tactically sound, they do a lot of training and they got themselves out of there in enough time,” Shaw said at a news briefing following the standoff.
According to Shaw, the hostage negotiators tried speaking with Parkington multiple times without much luck. He allegedly shot at police multiple times over the course of several hours, leading to police returning fire, before authorities heard a single gunshot wound.
No officers were injured.
Police were able to deploy a drone into the home where they confirmed Parkington was dead, Shaw said. According to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Parkington died of a gunshot wound to his head and neck. His death was ruled a suicide.
As a bomb squad was ensuring the home was safe to enter, authorities found a decomposing body inside. The identity of the individual has not been released.
Authorities also found in the home a possible pipe bomb, grenades and Molotov cocktails, Shaw said. Inscribed on the walls inside was “Kapitulieren Nein!” which translates in German to “no surrender.” Another message on a wall read, “10/31/25 is your last day!”
Court records show the home was under foreclosure from the bank.
Parkington’s wife wrote a letter dated Monday to the judge handling the eviction proceedings asking to be allowed to stay in the home until after the holidays and into March.
“Winter is coming and I am afraid I am going to be left on the street in the middle of winter,” she wrote.
A judge denied the request, records show.
The police-involved shooting is being investigated by the Connecticut Office of Inspector General, which is required to release footage from the incident within 96 hours.
The circumstances surrounding the decomposed body remain under investigation.
