Early Saturday, 17-year-old Oscar Granados Colindres was shot in Wappingers Falls by police in what officials called a possible suicide attempt.
According to a report by the state Attorney General’s Office, which investigates all officer-involved shootings, state and local law enforcement initially responded to a 911 call reporting a suicidal person. The report says officers encountered Colindres standing on the ledge of Wappingers Falls Creek Bridge with a knife in his hand. They tried to speak with him for almost an hour.
Eventually, the teen allegedly ran at an officer, and multiple officers shot him. He was taken to a local hospital, where he died.
When WAMC visited the scene on Wednesday, a memorial had been constructed on the bridge. Boxes of flowers, balloons, candles, stuffed animals, and a picture of Colindres are included, as well as a printed sign that reads, “You are not alone. You are loved.”
Sean Bowles had been there on Saturday when it happened. He was back on Wednesday.
“I came down the street and witnessed it. I could only stay about right over there, so they couldn't let me fully see everything,” Bowles said.
He said people in the community are wondering, “What brought him to that point? With everything going on in today's day and age, everything has a role, everything has a play. Why was that his play? Why couldn't help be brought sooner?”
Colindres went to nearby Roy C. Ketcham High School. In an email to the school community on Saturday, Wappingers Central School District Superintendent Dwight Bonk said the district activated the Emergency Response Team and said, “Our thoughts and prayers remain with the Granados Colindres Family and we remain available to assist as necessary.”
Law enforcement referred requests for comment to the Attorney General’s office, which said the investigation is ongoing.
Kalyn Horkan owns Revival on Main, just down the street from where Colindres was shot. On Wednesday, she described his death as an unexpected tragedy.
“It was just really sad and shocking. Nothing like that in the 30-or-so years that I've been in this community I’ve seen,” she said.
She also said that young people, in particular, are under a lot of pressure.
“I think our younger community goes through a lot more things than maybe we had to, with just the way everything is going on in today's day and age. I think that the kids have it hard with social media and immigration, specifically in this community. I think that it's hard,” said Horkan.
Part of the memorial was a note someone left sharing a personal reflection about what it’s like to struggle with depression.
It reads, in part:
“Some days I've wished I could simply go to sleep and not wake up, not because I wanted to die, but because I desperately wanted the pain to stop. There is a difference, and unless you've lived it, it's hard to explain. The hardest part about depression is that it lies. It tells you that you are worthless when you are valuable. It tells you, you are unloved when your heart has simply been wounded by people who fail to love you the way you deserved. It tells you that you will never heal, even while you're surviving another day. I am not my trauma, I am not the abuse. I am not the neglect. I am not the anxiety. I am not my depression. I am someone who has been broken but is still breathing. Someone who cries but still gets back up. Someone who continues to hope even when hope feels impossible to find. If you are reading this and your heart feels as heavy as mine, please know this: your pain is real. Your story matters, and your life has value. You are not weak because you're struggling. You're incredibly strong. You're incredibly strong because you're still here, despite everything you've endured. Maybe today we don't have all the answers, maybe today all we can do is survive, and sometimes surviving is the bravest thing we will ever do.”
The note was signed, “an anonymous Hispanic woman who refuses to give up, and you shouldn't either. In loving memory of Oscar. May his story remind us to show kindness and never underestimate the battle someone may be fighting in silence.”
