An infant died following a shooting in downtown Holyoke, Massachusetts on Wednesday afternoon in an incident apparently stemming from a street fight, officials have confirmed.
Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni confirmed that one of the victims was a pregnant woman riding on a bus passing through the area, who was critically wounded.
Her unborn baby was delivered in an emergency procedure to attempt to save the child’s life, but the infant did not survive, Gulluni said.
‘It appears three male suspects were involved in an altercation, during which a shooting occurred,’ he said. ‘All involved suspects are believed to have been identified and transported to nearby hospitals and are in custody.’
Gulluni confirmed that the pregnant woman was an innocent bystander, who happened to be passing through the area, and had nothing to do with the altercation that provoked the shooting.
Law enforcement officials investigate the scene where multiple were shot on Wednesday in Holyoke, Massachusetts
State police say at least three people, including a person riding a bus, were shot Wednesday in Holyoke following a fight on a downtown street
It was not immediately clear whether the two other reported victims in the shooting were innocent bystanders, or suspects in the altercation.
Massachusetts State Police spokesman Dave Procopio said the shooting ‘is believed to have stemmed from an altercation among several people.’
The Holyoke Police Department said the shooting occurred near the intersection of Sargeant and Maple streets shortly before 1pm, when cops received multiple 911 calls for help, as well as notifications from ShotSpotter.
‘We can confirm that there are multiple victims and this is an active and ongoing investigation,’ the department said in a statement, adding that residents should avoid the area of the shooting.
‘There is not believed to be any ongoing threat to the public,’ said Procopio.
State police said that at about 12:44pm, they sent patrols, K9 teams and investigative units to help Holyoke Police with the investigation, including the search for suspects in the area.
The intersection where the shooting occurred is surrounded by apartment buildings, as well as a convenience store and a Catholic church.
Witness Boyd McCray told Western Mass News that he heard roughly eight shots.
‘I was standing down the street, waiting on the bus, and I just heard pop, pop, pop, pop, pop,’ he said.
The office of Holyoke Mayor Joshua Garcia said the mayor was aware of the shooting and he would provide more details about the shooting later in the afternoon.
The investigation is ongoing and is being conducted by members of the State Police Detective Unit for Hampden County and Holyoke Police Detectives under the direction of the Hampden County District Attorney’s Office.
The Holyoke Police Department said the shooting occurred near the intersection of Sargeant and Maple streets shortly before 1pm
Holyoke, a city with a population of nearly 38,000, is about 90 miles west of Boston.
Known as ‘The Paper City,’ Holyoke at one time produced about four-fifths of the writing paper in the US. It is also home to the International Volleyball Hall of Fame.
Wednesday’s shooting came just hours after Holyoke police held a press conference to highlight the alarming number of shootings in the city.
The department in March installed ShotSpotter, an acoustic detection grid that can report the sound of gunshots, in strategic locations around the town.
Police said in the past six months, the system has detected 113 incidents involving gunfire, 72 of which happened near a playground and 27 near a school.
Many of those ShotSpotter activations were not reported by 911 callers, police said.
Developing story, more to follow.
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