Woman shot in Schenectady

PHOTOGRAPHER: Justin Mason

Police are searching for a man who shot a woman in the head after a brief dispute inside the Eastern Avenue Deli and Grocery late Friday evening.

Investigators on the scene declined to say whether the shooting was fatal, but witnesses at the scene said the woman was unresponsive. The shooting led to a massive manhunt after the shooter reportedly fled the scene into Vale Cemetery.

Detective Kevin Green declined to discuss the case from the scene. Calls placed to him late Friday evening were not returned.

Store owner Mohamed Aldhala said he was asleep in an apartment upstairs when he heard a single shot ring out. His three sons, who were manning the store’s counter at the time of the shooting, indicated that a man walked in behind a small-framed woman, had a brief conversation with her and then shot her once in the head.

“She was a customer,” he said from in front of his store. “She told him to get over her, and then he shot her right away.”

A police helicopter flew low over the neighborhood and cemetery, scanning them with a spotlight. Deputies from the Schenectady County Sheriff’s Department were on the scene with police dogs.

Police cordoned off an entire block of Eastern Avenue while investigators collected evidence from the store. An evidence technician was seen removing a videotape from the deli, which is located at 838 Eastern Avenue.

Scanner reports indicated that the man was dressed in all black and wearing a red bandana over his face. A witness who saw emergency responders tending to the injured woman said her arm fell limp as they were loading her into an ambulance.

The shooting startled people living in the densely populated residential area. One woman said she was deeply disturbed by the incident, which she said occurred in an area where a lot of children live.

“There are kids all around this neighborhood,” she said.