Police scoured areas of Putnam County, New York, Thursday, in search of a suspect wanted in a fatal shooting at a Long Island business. Putnam County Sheriff Donald Smith says officers from several law enforcement agencies continued their search for the Queens man in the Philipstown area in western Putnam County.
The Sheriff’s Office used a mass-calling alert system Thursday to notify area residents about the manhunt. Below is that call.
The Putnam County manhunt for Sang Ho Kim began at about 10:30 Wednesday night, after a patrolling Putnam County sheriff’s deputy spotted the suspect’s getaway vehicle parked unattended along Route 9D just north of the Village of Cold Spring, near Sandy Beach State Park, known as Little Stony Point. The spot is next to train tracks used by the Hudson Line of Metro-North Railroad and Amtrak, and near a popular hiking destination –Breakneck Ridge, with steep slopes and rugged terrain.
Authorities say Kim allegedly shot two workers at a lighting fixture company in East Garden City, in Nassau County, one fatally. The search in the Hudson Valley began Wednesday afternoon, in Orange County, focusing on Newburgh, New Windsor, and Cornwall.
Sheriff Smith held a press conference Thursday afternoon. Below is a link to the Putnam County Sheriff Department’s Facebook page, which has video of the press conference. Little information is divulged.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Putnam-County-Sheriffs-Department/250881311591165
Sheriff Smith says he does not want area residents to be afraid, but cautious. He stressed, “If you see something, say something.” Smith says it is not known if the suspect is alive.
The Haldane Central School District in Cold Spring, which is about one mile from where the getaway vehicle was found, was closed Thursday. It is expected the school district will be open Friday, and Smith and State Police Major Michael Kopy said there would be a strong police presence on the Haldane and nearby Garrison School campuses if the search is still ongoing. Residents can also expect increased patrols in the Cold Spring, Nelsonville and Philipstown areas until the alleged suspect is located.
By Thursday afternoon, Smith says more than 100 officers from the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, New York State Police, Nassau County Police, Cold Spring Police, New York State Park Police, MTA Railroad Police, the Putnam County Emergency Response Team, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, state forest rangers, Westchester County Police, Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office, and the FBI joined the search. Canine teams, marine patrols and helicopters were deployed to comb the area, which is heavily wooded and along the Hudson River.