Police: Melee breaks out during ransom exchange with purported kidnappers in Connecticut

Conn. police: Melee breaks out at ransom exchange

GREENWICH, Conn. — Greenwich, Conn., police say a family that was asked to pay a ransom to free three immigrant relatives showed up with baseball bats instead, sparking a melee involving 19 people.

The brawl happened in a shopping center parking lot Sunday morning.

The family members live about 90 miles away in Willimantic. They told investigators their relatives had been kidnapped in Texas. Police say they had agreed to meet the captors with ransom money, but showed up armed with baseball bats and rescued the three.

The kidnapping suspect and the three victims were being held for questioning on immigration violations.

The brawl followed an alert by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to area police describing a human-smuggling investigation.

Information from: Greenwich Time, www.greenwichtime.com