Albany’s July 4th celebration turned to tragedy and chaos as multiple shootings and a fire broke out near the downtown fireworks show.
The annual Independence Day display at the Empire State Plaza was marred as 10 people were shot in three different incidents Friday evening and early Saturday morning.
City Police Chief Brendan Cox spoke with reporters Saturday.
“The first incident occurred at approximately 5:30 p.m. in the area of North First Street from Jennings Drive. In this incident, a 15-year-old male was shot in the foot, causing a graze wound into his toe area. He was located by officers in the process of being transported to the hospital by his mother. He was treated and released from the hospital, and that incident is under investigation by our juvenile unit,” said Cox.
The second shooting took place around 10 p.m. as the fireworks show was wrapping up.
“In this incident, an altercation occurred between a group of juveniles, resulting in one juvenile firing a flare gun and a second juvenile firing a handgun. The projectile from the flare gun struck the residence at 333 Madison Avenue causing a structure fire. The rounds from the handgun struck four people that had attended the fireworks show,” said Cox.
The residence on Madison Avenue that was struck by the flare gun was destroyed by the resulting fire.
Life-long Albany resident Saitavius Fox lives a block away from the fire and knew something had gone wrong when he saw smoke rising into the air Friday night.
“I saw two firetrucks, four ambulances, and I think like four police cars speeding down Madison. And it wasn’t until we actually went outside to head to the bars that I saw that my whole street was blocked off. It was blocked off from the top of Lark and Madison to Swan and Madison. The Fourth of July going up in fire, with the year we’re having, the irony wasn’t lost on me,” said Fox.
On Saturday morning, a group of teens approached a house on Livingston Avenue and fired at several people, striking five.
City police say investigations into the series of incidents are ongoing and no arrests have been made.
Following the incidents, officials have been looking for answers.
Cox said there’s been an increase in gun violence in the city.
“Clearly, more needs to be done. I want to ask the parents and community members to please take stock when I was 1415, years old, my parents why? They might not always know what I was doing. They certainly would have known if I was running around with a handgun or a flare gun. So, I'm asking the members of this community and parents check what your kids have flare guns have now caused two residences in this city to go up in flames and wind up becoming total wrecks,” said Cox.
Mayor Kathy Sheehan said while the city had seen slower increases in juvenile crime compared to other cities in the region, more needs to be done to prevent youth violence.
“We also have to reach out to those parents and ensure that they understand how important it is for their young people to get the help and the resources that they need—not to pick up a gun. Giving a child a gun will not keep that child safe, and we only need to look at last night to see how true that is. Also, the issue with flare guns. You know, these are not BB guns, these are not paintball guns, these are not things that any juvenile should possess,” said Sheehan.
The Democrat, who is not seeking reelection in November, said state funding meant to cut gun violence has been tied up.
“What's frustrating to me as the mayor of Albany is that when “Raise the Age” was passed, tens of millions of dollars were made available to counties to engage young people who were going to, now, not be prosecuted as adults. And, in Albany County, instead of getting more programs, we have less. I don't understand why,” said Sheehan.
Sheehan said the city and county need to work together to tackle the issue, adding she wasn’t calling out any elected officials.
“I want my community to be safe. And so just as we came together with the county around the mental health crisis issue, and we worked with them, and the mental health department at our request, went out and worked in the community to see how serious the challenge was, and then created programs that we're now deploying, we need to be doing the same things with our juveniles, because this cannot stand,” said Sheehan.
Albany County Executive Dan McCoy responded with a statement saying his office would contact city hall for clarification. Sheehan and McCoy have previously been at odds over the executive’s suggestion that the city and county share services.
