Poughkeepsie Police investigate shootings of two teens, shooter at large
Police are asking for anyone with information that may lead to an arrest to call their hotline immediately.
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A person who lives in the area of Church Street and South White Street just outside downtown Poughkeepsie told News 12 he heard about 15 quick gunshots, and then went to the window to snap some photos of the pandemonium.
In some of the photos, police and medics appear to be loading a 17-year-old boy into an ambulance.
Police said the boy was shot in the neck.
The shots were fired shortly before 3 p.m. Tuesday, just after Poughkeepsie High School let out for the day.
Police said another person – a 19-year-old – later showed up to a hospital also with a bullet wound to his neck.
Both teens are expected to survive.
"That's really sad, man," neighbor Chet Williams said. "We have nowhere to go. After school, the kids, they usually congregate around there. There might be other things stemming from school and all that. But I'm just saying, they tore down the YMCA years ago. They did not replace it."
Williams and other neighbors said it is common for a physical fight to arise as students leave school, walking through the neighborhood in large numbers, but the gun violence was a shock.
"There are a few people who need more support and more services," said Christopher Grant, the neighborhood's City Council representative.
Grant hopes Tuesday's incident inspired parents to have some talks with their children.
"Kids are being allowed to run wild," he said, "and we need to do better at teaching them coping mechanisms, how to deal with adversity and how to deal with conflict."
The circumstances surrounding the shooting incidents are unclear.
Police are asking for anyone with information that may lead to an arrest to call their hotline immediately.
Poughkeepsie Mayor Yvonne Flowers has called a press conference for 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, where she and police plan to discuss crime prevention and potential increases in services for the city's young people.
