Conn. Gen. Stat. » Title 53 — CRIMES · Chapter 943 — Offenses Against Public Peace and Safety
Connecticut General Statutes

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53-203 (2026)

Unlawful discharge of firearms

✓ current as of May 2026
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Any person who intentionally, negligently or carelessly discharges any firearm in such a manner as to be likely to cause bodily injury or death to persons or domestic animals, or the wanton destruction of property, shall be guilty of a class C misdemeanor.

(1949 Rev., S. 8521; P.A. 73-457; P.A. 12-80, S. 103.)

History: P.A. 73-457 essentially rewrote provisions, which previously prohibited discharging firearms “in any city or borough, except on military occasions, without permission first obtained from the mayor of such city or the warden of such borough” and which had imposed fine for firing cannon without permit applicable to proprietors or persons in charge of private military schools, to forbid discharging firearm so as to harm persons, domestic animals or property and to increase maximum fine from $7 to $250 and maximum imprisonment from 30 days to 3 months; P.A. 12-80 replaced penalty of a fine of not more than $250 or imprisonment of not more than 3 months or both with a class C misdemeanor.

Cited. 169 C. 309; 186 C. 574; 197 C. 602; 215 C. 739; 219 C. 363; 226 C. 497.

Cited. 24 CA 408.

Cited. 39 CS 359.

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Notes of Decisions
Cited in 37 cases (9 in the last 5 years), 1975–2026 · leading case: State v. Josephs, 176 A.3d 542 (Conn. 2018).
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State v. Josephs, 176 A.3d 542 (Conn. 2018). · cites it 4× “First, General Statutes § 53-203 8 makes it abundantly clear that injuring a neighbor's pet cat by shooting it with a BB gun is not permissible, and, further, General Statutes § 22-351 9 disallows the injuring or killing of a companion animal by any means when such act is not…”
State v. Milum, 500 A.2d 555 (Conn. 1985). · cites it 4× “to 1979) § 53a-59 (a), unlawful restraint in the first degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-95 (a), and unlawful discharge of a firearm in violation of General Statutes § 53-203. The trial jury, however, found him guilty of the lesser included offenses of assault in the…”
Elliott v. City of Waterbury, 715 A.2d 27 (Conn. 1998). · cites it 2× “” General Statutes § 53-203 provides: “Unlawful discharge of firearms.”
State v. Preston, 944 A.2d 276 (Conn. 2008). · cites it 2× ““During the defendant’s period of probation, he was arrested and charged with assault in the first degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-59, unlawful discharge of a firearm in violation of General Statutes § 53-203, illegal use of a facsimile firearm in violation of…”
State v. Mason, 442 A.2d 1335 (Conn. 1982). · cites it 2× “n Admission or Deceased’s Conviction A significant aspect of the defendant’s claim of self-defense involved demonstrating the violent character and reputation of the deceased. The defendant assigns as error the trial court’s refusal to allow the defendant to introduce evidence…”
State v. Whitaker, 578 A.2d 1031 (Conn. 1990). · cites it 2× “” The defendant was initially charged in a five count information with murder; General Statutes § 53a-54a; conspiracy to commit assault in the *743 first degree; General Statutes §§ 53a-59, 53a-48; carrying a pistol without a permit; General Statutes § 29-35; and unlawful…”
State v. Gonzalez, 214 Conn. App. 511 (Conn. App. Ct. 2022). · cites it 2× “fendant’s commission of a shooting on January 2, 2017, the defendant was charged, by way of a substitute information, with one count of assault in the first degree in violation of Gen- eral Statutes § 53a-59 (a) (5), one count of attempt to commit murder in violation of General…”
State v. Douglas, 11 A.3d 699 (Conn. App. Ct. 2011). · cites it 2× “1 Subsequent to closing argument and prior to the jury charge, the state filed an amended information withdrawing one count of unlawful discharge of a firearm in violation of General Statutes § 53-203. 2 The questioning of Adorno was conducted through an interpreter.”
State v. Gerak, 363 A.2d 114 (Conn. 1975). · cites it 7× “” The defendant’s counsel had previously excepted to the court’s comment upon the *316 evidence and also to the court’s instruction as to the effect of the defendant’s violation of General Statutes § 53-203, relative to the discharge of weapons within the city limits, which the…”
Griffin v. Parker, 593 A.2d 124 (Conn. 1991). · cites it 2× “In the third count, he alleged that his injuries were caused by the defendant’s recklessness and carelessness in discharging the shotgun in a manner likely to cause bodily injury or death in violation of General Statutes § 53-203. 5 6 The civil action was not commenced until…”
In re Keijam T., 628 A.2d 562 (Conn. 1993). · cites it 2× “The delinquency petition also charged the respondent with the serious juvenile offense of attempted murder in violation of General Statutes §§ 53a-54a and 53a-49, and with the offenses of criminal use of a firearm in violation of General Statutes § 53a-216, carrying a pistol…”
State v. Rivera, 204 A.3d 4 (Conn. App. Ct. 2019). · cites it 2× “to 1985) § 53-203 12 for shooting and killing a neighbor's dog that had entered the defendant's property and had previously attacked his chickens.”
Show all 37 citing cases →
— Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53-203(b) — 1 case
Rountree (D. Conn. 2026).
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.