Vermont

Reaction after Burlington shooting

Published

1 year ago

August 25, 2024

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Another shooting in downtown Burlington leaves one person dead.

“It was ironic because I was actually out and about on Thursday, canvassing, on Thursday night, and I was talking to Alex. I’m like, yeah you know, glad to see that things have gone down and we haven’t seen this issue in a while. Next night later I wake up to a text message from a friend, saying. Hey look, we had another gun fire incident,” Christopher Haessly of the Church Street Marketplace District Commission.

Christopher Haessly has lived in downtown Burlington for many years, in fact, he lives right off of Church St.

He’s on the Church Street Marketplace District Commission, and in all of his years living in Burlington, he’s never seen violence in the city like this before, and is calling on local leaders to do something.

“I think moving forward we need to have a conversation about weather or not we want to continue to allow firearms into bars and other downtown establishments,” Haessly said.

According to police, the shooting happened at approximately 12:28 a.m. on Saturday, outside of Red Square on Church St.

Police say they arrested 22-year-old Aaliyah Johnson, of South Burlington, and recovered a .45 Caliber pistol.

Burlington police say a Community Service Officer (C.S.O.) heard gunshots and responded to the area. When he arrived, he found 30 year old Teville Williams of Stowe shot.

Officers attempted to provide medical care to Williams, but were disrupted by a large crowd that surrounded the officers.

They say the crowd had to be pushed back in order to preserve the crime scene, which included shell casings, bullets, and blood evidence.

According to Burlington police, the shooting stems from an altercation between Williams and Johnson, where Williams is alleged to have assaulted Johnson inside red square.

Bar employees made them both leave, out of two separate doors.

Johnson exited one door and moved towards the other to confront Williams on Church Street.

She then allegedly shot him several times.

“There are concerns with the business community. Nobody wants their business to be associated with gun violence. It is not a good look. It discourages people from coming downtown,” Haessly said.

WCAX reached out to Red Square for comment, but did not get a response.

But the bar said in a social media post it would be closed for the day to let staff members heal from the incident.

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Vermont

Vermont woman answers to charges of NH police chase that injured 3 officers

Published

11 hours ago

February 2, 2026

Press Room

Vermont woman answers to charges of NH police chase that injured 3 officers

ST. JOHNSBURY, Vt. (WCAX) – A Vermont woman pleaded not guilty Monday to accusations she stole a truck, hit multiple police cruisers, and led police on a chase that crossed state borders.

Marisa Levesque, 42, of Groton, faces Vermont charges of operating without owner’s consent, grossly negligent operation, and eluding police.

The charges stem from Friday’s incident where police say she stole a man’s truck from a cafe in Gorham, New Hampshire, where the owner had left it running. She then led police on a chase through several towns and into Vermont, where she was eventually stopped with spike strips in Barnet.

Police also say she hit two cruisers in New Hampshire and caused minor injuries to three officers.

Court paperwork says Levesque will be extradited to New Hampshire to face several charges there, including assault, reckless conduct with a deadly weapon, and disobeying an officer.

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Vermont

This Day in History: Vermont’s state flower is chosen

Published

23 hours ago

February 2, 2026

Press Room

This Day in History: Vermont’s state flower is chosen

MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – Vermont’s state flower was chosen on this day in history.

An act of the legislature on February 1st, 1895, made the red clover the official flower of the Green Mountain State.

The red clover was seen as hardy, durable, like Vermont’s population, and widespread across the state’s agricultural lands.

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Vermont

Vermont House passes mid-year budget adjustment

Published

1 day ago

February 1, 2026

Press Room

Vermont House passes mid-year budget adjustment

MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – Vermont House lawmakers gave final approval this week to a mid-year adjustment of the state budget.

The spending plan passed unanimously and includes more money for state police overtime, an expansion of the Chittenden County Accountability Court and money for Meals on Wheels.

The budget also allocates $5 million to maintain Section 8 housing vouchers. That money comes from a $60 million fund set aside last year in the event of cuts from the federal government.

“We’re a quarter of the way through the game. We want to be careful to not spend everything now because given everything that’s happened in the last 12 months, who knows what’s going to happen in the next 12 or longer,” said Rep. Robin Scheu, D-Middlebury.

The budget adjustment bill now heads to the Vermont Senate.

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