Police: Man Arrested After Holding What Looked Like a Gun

When New Canaan police entered a home on Forest Street last Saturday, a 58-year-old resident came around a corner in the kitchen carrying what looked just like a pistol, police said.

A quick-thinking police officer knocked the thing out of William Engborg's hand, although "It could have turned bad, fast," said Sgt. Carol Ogrinc, a Police Department spokeswoman.

Engborg was holding a pellet gun, according to police, who gave this further account (an accusation not proven in court) of the incident:

The pellet gun had the required orange marking on it to identify it as something other than a regular pistol, but the mark had faded to the point where it wasn't recognizable.

Police had been called to the house at 11:13 p.m. by a neighbor who complained of loud music and yelling from the house. The neighbor also said a hole had been shot through a screen, damaging it.

Police went up to Engborg's home and knocked several times on the door. When no one answered for a very long time, they entered the home to make sure no one was hurt or in dire need of assistance after the reported yelling and shooting.

That's when they encountered Engborg coming around a corner in the kitchen. Police didn't have their weapons in hand when they saw Engborg, but with a man seeming to hold a gun up, that's generally the next step.

Engborg was charged with third-degree criminal mischief, carrying a facsimile of a firearm and breach of peace. He later posted a $1,000 and is scheduled to appear July 1 in state Superior Court in Norwalk.