At a press conference Monday, Aug. 3, city officials vowed to heighten police presence in the Yonkers neighborhood shaken by a fatal shooting Sunday night.
The shooting, which took place near the intersection of Palisade Avenue and Elm Street, left a 20-year-old dead and four teenagers injured. The suspect, a 15-year-old male, is in police custody.
The incident is currently being investigated as a “targeted act” of “group violence," said Police Commissioner Daniel Campanini during the press conference.
He added there will be a “very heavy and continued police presence” at the scene of the shooting and other nearby areas where a "retaliatory strike” could potentially occur.
“We’re taking our streets back,” said Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano during the
press conference. “There’s all kinds of police activity here. So, for those who might think about a retaliatory strike, they might want to think again.”
How the shooting played out, according to police
At around 8:43 p.m. Sunday, the suspect stepped into the middle of Palisade Avenue and opened fire, said Campanini.
The shooting, which took place within the span of about five minutes, was captured on surveillance video that has been retrieved by police.
The deceased victim was shot in the back and later pronounced dead at the scene. The four other victims — a 14-year-old female, two 15-year old males and one 16-year-old male — remain hospitalized in critical but stable condition.
Ernesto Leyva, owner of La Pizzeria del Sabor on Palisade Avenue, was working in the restaurant when gunfire erupted.
“It’s a scare to hear such shots,” he said. “It’s not good for the neighborhood.”
A police officer stationed in the area heard the shots and the suspect was apprehended near the scene after attempting to flee, said Campanini.
“We believe this was the sole suspect, and this was a targeted incident, and there is no ongoing threat to the public,” he said.
'People want to know who to blame'
During Monday’s press conference, Spano pointed fingers at both the state legislature and Congress.
“People want to know who to blame,” he said. “Go to the state legislature, because they’ve succeeded in taking the handcuffs off the bad guys and putting them on law enforcement and the judges.”
“If that isn’t enough,” he continued. “We can blame the Democrats at home, we can blame the Republicans in Washington, because of their inability to do things that will allow for law enforcement to take guns, illegal guns, off the streets.”
He maintained that Yonkers is statistically one of the safest cities in New York, adding the neighborhood where the shooting took place has not experienced a homicide in nearly a year.
“One murder is too many,” he said. “We have a mom or a dad or a family that is going to mourn the loss of a 20-year-old because some 15-year-old got his hands on a gun.”
Contributing: lohud's Tania Savayan
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Yonkers officials talk fatal shooting. 'One murder too many'
