It’s the second shooting to happen downtown in the past two months.
(SYRACUSE, NEW YORK): On Sunday, September 24th around 3:00 am, the Syracuse Police Department responded to University Hospital – Downtown Campus, for the arrival of a walk-in shooting victim. The 25-year-old victim told police he thought he heard fireworks while standing in the street in Armory Square. He looked down to see two gunshot wounds in his legs.
The victim told police that he was outside 127 West Fayette Street, near Clinton Street Pub downtown. It’s the second time a shooting has happened downtown in the past two months. The other one was gang-related, and the other victim was also a 25-year-old.
Another shooting has become all too familiar for Gina Brainard. “You’re desensitized to it at this point because it happens almost frequently,” Brainard said. She’s been an employee at Sweet on Chocolate for two years. It’s a few blocks over from where the victim said the shooting happened early Sunday.
“This is a business district. So you wouldn’t expect stuff like that to happen down here, so it’s a little surprising,” neighbor James Harper said. He grew up in Syracuse like Savanah Boyle. “There’s a moment of “that’s so terrible.” And then there’s a moment of “Of course, everyone’s going to focus on it,” Boyle said.
Lt. Malinowski tells NCC News that incidents like this shouldn’t stop you from going downtown. “These things happen later at night when alcohol is involved in large gatherings when the bars are letting out,” Malinowski said. “So we don’t want to discourage people from visiting Armory Square. We do have multiple police officers patrolling the area.”
Savanah and Grace are still proud of their city, even if shootings continue to happen downtown. “It’s a great city is what I think. It’s a really hard, conflicting moment when things like this happen,” Boyle said. “You want to be happy and proud of your city and think that it’s a safe place and great place to live and it is,” Brainard said. “But these are realities of what happens when you live in this kind of area.”
The investigation is still active and ongoing. Police are asking anyone with information to submit an anonymous tip by calling 911.