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Herkimer, N.Y. —
After a series of connected incidents ranging from arson to homicide, sorrow and worry became common feelings among residents throughout the Mohawk Valley Wednesday afternoon.
“It’s sad to see something like this happen in Herkimer,” said Jessica Gushue, of Herkimer.
Gushue said she was at Basset Healthcare Wednesday morning until she was told to leave the facility as it was going into lockdown “After I heard about it I drove by Main Street and saw police cars everywhere,” she said. “I just can’t imagine having a child in school and not being able to get to them when all of this is going on.”
Samantha Wood, of Herkimer, said she received a call Wednesday morning from her father telling her about the incidents.
“My mom lives right off South Main Street, so I was really worried,” she said.
After Wood found her mother safe in her home she headed to North Main Street to see what was going on. “When I saw the police cars and everything that was going on I got nervous, especially since I have a nine-month-old daughter to worry about,” she said.
“You never really hear about anything bad happening here in Herkimer, maybe a few bar fights but no shootings,” said Jesse McClain, of Herkimer.
McClain lives in an apartment building off North Main Street and was told he couldn’t enter his building due to the shooting.
“Everything is going haywire and it seems like no one has control. I know the police have to take precaution, but something has to give,” said McClain.
Sonny Blum said he and his wife had been stuck on North Main Street for two hours.
“We got here at 1 p.m. to see what was going on and about half past 1 p.m. we heard shots being fired. After that police yelled to everyone to get back and they pushed us back from the middle of the street to the front near the intersection. Since then we haven’t been able to get to our car,” said Blum.
“They’re investigation the situation and have been all day, but this is something that might go on for a while or it might not, it all depends on what happens next,” he added.
Although the incident threw his day off Blum said he was not shocked that the incident occurred. “Everything that has been happening with the recent nationwide shootings, it was only a matter of time until something happened here,” he said.
For father and Rome school administrator Michael Stalteri safety is a concern.
“I work in the Rome school district and we have resource officers at the school, but there is no officer where my children go to school at Herkimer Junior-Senior High School. They were on lockdown, however, I decided to leave Rome and come here where I know I could better protect my children,” he said. “The event that happened at Gaffey’s and John’s Barbershop could have easily happened in the school. Here we are focusing on heavy artillery when we should really be focusing on safety and mental health.”
After the day’s events Stalteri said there are two issues that need to be addressed.
“People who aren’t mentally stable should not have accessibility to guns and we need to make sure our children are kept safe,” he said.
“As mayor, I’m trying to stay calm and allow police personnel to do the job they are trained to do and protect the residents of the community,” said Herkimer Mayor Mark Ainsworth. “When I heard about the shots being fired I couldn’t help but feel numb. It’s such a small town and through the community rumors fly fast and it’s hard to find the real facts because everyone is thinking about their family members and if they are safe. No one expects this kind of thing to happen and my condolences go out to all the victim’s families. This is a good community with good people and we will pull together and get through this. That’s what we do and that’s what we will always do.”
After a series of connected incidents ranging from arson to homicide, sorrow and worry became common feelings among residents throughout the Mohawk Valley Wednesday afternoon.
“It’s sad to see something like this happen in Herkimer,” said Jessica Gushue, of Herkimer.
Gushue said she was at Basset Healthcare Wednesday morning until she was told to leave the facility as it was going into lockdown “After I heard about it I drove by Main Street and saw police cars everywhere,” she said. “I just can’t imagine having a child in school and not being able to get to them when all of this is going on.”
Samantha Wood, of Herkimer, said she received a call Wednesday morning from her father telling her about the incidents.
“My mom lives right off South Main Street, so I was really worried,” she said.
After Wood found her mother safe in her home she headed to North Main Street to see what was going on. “When I saw the police cars and everything that was going on I got nervous, especially since I have a nine-month-old daughter to worry about,” she said.
“You never really hear about anything bad happening here in Herkimer, maybe a few bar fights but no shootings,” said Jesse McClain, of Herkimer.
McClain lives in an apartment building off North Main Street and was told he couldn’t enter his building due to the shooting.
“Everything is going haywire and it seems like no one has control. I know the police have to take precaution, but something has to give,” said McClain.
Sonny Blum said he and his wife had been stuck on North Main Street for two hours.
“We got here at 1 p.m. to see what was going on and about half past 1 p.m. we heard shots being fired. After that police yelled to everyone to get back and they pushed us back from the middle of the street to the front near the intersection. Since then we haven’t been able to get to our car,” said Blum.
“They’re investigation the situation and have been all day, but this is something that might go on for a while or it might not, it all depends on what happens next,” he added.
Although the incident threw his day off Blum said he was not shocked that the incident occurred. “Everything that has been happening with the recent nationwide shootings, it was only a matter of time until something happened here,” he said.
For father and Rome school administrator Michael Stalteri safety is a concern.
“I work in the Rome school district and we have resource officers at the school, but there is no officer where my children go to school at Herkimer Junior-Senior High School. They were on lockdown, however, I decided to leave Rome and come here where I know I could better protect my children,” he said. “The event that happened at Gaffey’s and John’s Barbershop could have easily happened in the school. Here we are focusing on heavy artillery when we should really be focusing on safety and mental health.”
After the day’s events Stalteri said there are two issues that need to be addressed.
“People who aren’t mentally stable should not have accessibility to guns and we need to make sure our children are kept safe,” he said.
“As mayor, I’m trying to stay calm and allow police personnel to do the job they are trained to do and protect the residents of the community,” said Herkimer Mayor Mark Ainsworth. “When I heard about the shots being fired I couldn’t help but feel numb. It’s such a small town and through the community rumors fly fast and it’s hard to find the real facts because everyone is thinking about their family members and if they are safe. No one expects this kind of thing to happen and my condolences go out to all the victim’s families. This is a good community with good people and we will pull together and get through this. That’s what we do and that’s what we will always do.”
