Poughkeepsie police say officers shot armed man; bystander shot also
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. (NEWS10)-- A Poughkeepsie man was shot and arrested after city police said he would not drop a weapon pointed at police; an unarmed bystander was also shot at the scene. Kevin Fitzpatrick, 41, faces multiple charges.
Around 10:12 a.m. on Sunday, December 22, Public Safety Dispatchers received a 911 call from Fitzpatrick reporting an armed man outside an apartment near 17 Rose Street, the Fallkill Commons Apartments. Once police arrived on the scene, they were confronted by a male fitting the description given, armed with a reported handgun.
According to police, the man pointed the gun at officers and refused to comply with verbal commands given. Officers then fired their service weapons at the subject to neutralize further threats, police said.
Once police secured the injured suspect and rendered aid including a tourniquet, they identified him as the caller, Fitzpatrick. According to police, they reportedly found a second handgun in Fitzpatrick's waistband.
The uninvolved bystander also suffered a gunshot wound in the arm. Police did not say who shot the unidentified person.
Both were taken to local hospitals for treatment. On Monday, police said. Fitzpatrick remained hospitalized in stable condition; the bystander was treated and released.
Fitzpatrick was charged with reckless endangerment in the first degree, a class D felony; tampering with physical evidence, a class E felony; and menacing in the second degree, a class A misdemeanor.
The town of Poughkeepsie police assisted city police alongside the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office and state police. The Dutchess County District Attorney’s Office and the state Attorney General’s Office of Special Investigations were notified and began investigating the incident further, as the Attorney General’s Office investigates all incidents where police discharge their service weapons.