Gunfire that erupted minutes before school buses let off children in the area left one person dead of multiple gunshot wounds Friday afternoon, police said.
The 43-year-old man was shot shortly before 2:30 in the area of 425 Hulett St.
Public Safety Commissioner Wayne Bennett said the victim suffered an injury to his arm and at least two bullet wounds to his abdomen.
The man was alert and talking to rescuers at the scene, Bennett said, about a half hour after the shooting, but he said that was not automatically a good prognosis for the victim. “It’s a vital area,” he said, “anything can happen.”
The victim was treated at the scene by the Schenectady Fire Department and transported by Mohawk Ambulance to Ellis Hospital, where he later died, police said.
Police initially charged Terell Bethea, 28, with second-degree attempted murder, as well as second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property, but police said the attempted murder charge has since been upgraded to second-degree murder.
The ensuing investigation had Schenectady Street blocked between Van Voast and Hamilton streets, with yellow police tape blocking the street in a few places.
The shooting happened minutes before school buses were set to drop off students and parents gathered to greet and take home their children.
One mother, who declined to give her name, said she arrived after the shooting to pick up her child from the bus.
She worried about what could have happened, had the shooting been a little later.
“You never know,” she said. “People walk up and down, kids have got to go that way.
“It’s just dangerous. It’s dangerous, you know?” she said.
“You’ve got little kids walking home from school. Anything can happen. It makes it very difficult as a parent. You worry every day.”
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Categories: Schenectady County
