Man arrested in Louisiana, extradited to Connecticut for machete attack on high school campus

A man arrested in Louisiana was extradited to Connecticut, where he is facing charges connected with a violent machete attack on the campus of a Bridgeport high school last summer.

Gerald W. Valle, 22, was arrested Friday in Pine Prairie, Louisiana, in connection with an attack outside of Central High School in June 2023, according to the Bridgeport Police Department.

Around 8:15 p.m. on June 18, 2023, police responded to the high school at 1 Lincoln Boulevard for reports of an assault with a dangerous weapon, Bridgeport Captain Kevin Gilleran said in a statement on Sunday.

Officers found a 26-year-old Bridgeport man suffering from “a very large wound” to his abdomen. He was taken to a local hospital, according to police.

Investigators from the detective bureau discovered that the man was targeted by someone he knew and attacked with a machete near the baseball field adjacent to the John F. Kennedy Stadium, police said.

Valle was extradited to Bridgeport where he was charged with first-degree assault, first-degree criminal attempted assault, first-degree reckless endangerment and third-degree assault, according to police.

He was being held on a $300,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in Bridgeport Superior Court on Monday, police said.

“I would like to thank Bridgeport Police Detective Jose Bahr for his diligent work during this investigation and the U.S. Marshals Violent Fugitive Task Force for assisting with the suspect’s apprehension,” Gilleran said.