STATE OF VERMONT
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY
VERMONT STATE POLICE
CASE#: 26A3007454
RANK/TROOPER FULL NAME: Detective Sgt. Zachary Van
Valkenburgh
STATION: VSP Berlin
CONTACT#: 802-229-9191
DATE/TIME: About 3:30 a.m., Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026
INCIDENT LOCATION: East Cobble Hill Road, Barre, VT
INCIDENT TYPE: Shooting with injury
ACCUSED: Joshua Brackett
AGE: 41
CITY, STATE OF RESIDENCE: Waitsfield, VT
VIOLATIONS:
·
Attempted first-degree murder
·
Aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
·
Burglary into an occupied dwelling.
·
Reckless endangerment.
·
Violation of conditions of release.
Brackett
VICTIM: The Vermont State Police does not release the names
of victims of domestic or sexual violence.
AGE: 55
CITY, STATE OF RESIDENCE: Barre, VT
SUMMARY OF INCIDENT:
The Vermont State Police has arrested a suspect on multiple
charges including attempted murder following a shooting early Sunday, Sept. 6,
2026, at a home in Barre.
The investigation began at about 3:30 a.m. when a 55-year-old
resident of Barre called 911 and reported he had just been shot by a man he
identified as Joshua Brackett. Brackett, 41, of Waitsfield was reported to have
fled the scene of the shooting on East Cobble Hill Road. Arriving crews from
Barre Town Ambulance brought the victim to Central Vermont Medical Center in
Berlin, where he was treated before being transferred to the University of
Vermont Medical Center in Burlington. His condition as of Sunday afternoon was
reported to be critical but stable.
Following investigation, members of the state police located
Brackett at a home in Waitsfield, where he was taken into custody on suspicion
of attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon,
burglary into an occupied dwelling, reckless endangerment, and violating
conditions of release. He was ordered jailed without bail at the Northeast
Correctional Complex in St. Johnsbury and is scheduled to be arraigned at 12:30
p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026, in the Criminal Division of Vermont Superior Court
in Barre.
VSP’s initial investigation indicates this shooting was the
result of a dispute between Brackett and the victim regarding a domestic
relationship with a third party.
This investigation involves members of the Vermont State
Police Major Crime Unit, Bureau of Criminal Investigations, Field Force
Division, and Victim Services Unit. Multiple VSP special teams participated in
the case, including the Tactical Services Unit, Crime Scene Search Team,
Technology Investigation Unit, Narcotics Investigation Unit, Crisis Negotiation
Unit, and Unmanned Aircraft Systems Program. The Barre Town and Barre City police
departments also responded.
Investigators ask that anyone with information regarding this
case call the Vermont State Police barracks in Berlin at 802-229-9191 or
provide an anonymous tip online at https://vsp.vermont.gov/tipsubmit.
No additional information is available at this time. The
affidavit of probable cause will be filed with the court and made public
following Brackett’s arraignment. Members of the media should call the Court
Clerk’s Office to confirm details of the hearing.
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