© 2024
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
An update has been released for the Android version of the WAMC App that addresses performance issues. Please check the Google Play Store to download and update to the latest version.

Pittsfield July 4 Shootings: Law Enforcement Say Lack Of Cooperation Holding Up Investigation

Jim Levulis
/
WAMC
Pittsfield Police and Massachusetts State Police were investigating another shooting scene on Robbins Ave July 5. It's about a block from the shooting scene near Dewey Ave. Price Memorial AME Zion Church can be seen in the background.

Law enforcement in Pittsfield continues to investigate two shootings the night of July 4th that killed one person and injured four others. The Berkshire District Attorney says the investigation is being stymied by a lack of cooperation from people who may have more information.The Berkshire District Attorney’s office says a drive-by shooting on Robbins Avenue and a multiple gun shooting a block away near Linden St. around 11 p.m. July 4th are apparently related. One person injured in the second shooting had been injured already in the drive-by shooting.

District Attorney David Capeless says two handguns and multiple pieces of evidence from both shootings have been recovered while more than 50 people have been interviewed.

“Despite the extensive efforts of the many investigators from various agencies working together, we are still stymied by a lack of cooperation from people whom we believe have information vital to determining who was involved and what their motives were,” Capeless said in a statement. “Multiple shooters were involved and five people were wounded, one fatally. Gunplay and street violence are abhorrent to any community, but silence is their ally. Please help us, and help the Pittsfield community.”

Pittsfield Police Chief Michael Wynn has long expressed the need for community action.

“We cannot be everywhere at once,” Wynn said at a 2014 community meeting organized after a gang-related shooting involving two teenagers. “We rely on cooperative, involved citizens to be our eyes and ears.”

The DA’s office says the drive-by shooting targeted a group of people gathered outside a home. Two men and one woman were injured.

Twenty-five-year-old Ronald Pinel was killed in the second shooting.

Pittsfield police ask anyone with information to call 413-448-9700 or the detective’s bureau at 413-448-9705.

Jim is WAMC’s Associate News Director and hosts WAMC's flagship news programs: Midday Magazine, Northeast Report and Northeast Report Late Edition. Email: jlevulis@wamc.org
Related Content