Update: Police arrest two men in Flanders shooting
Update (12:30 p.m. Thursday): The two men arrested in connection with Wednesday’s shooting in Flanders were arraigned Thursday morning and held without bail. Click here for details.
Update (1 a.m. Thursday): Two men were arrested in connection with Wednesday’s shooting in Flanders, according to a Southampton Police press release.
Kwame Opoku, 32, of Mastic Beach was charged with first-degree assault, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, second-degree criminal use of a firearm, and first-degree reckless endangerment, police said.
Emmanuel Coleman, 34, of Riverhead, was charged with first-degree assault and issued a warrant for a parole violation, officials said.
The unidentified 36-year-old male victim was standing in front of his residence on McKinley Street when he was shot shortly after 3 p.m. on Wednesday, police said. He was airlifted to Stony Brook Medical Center, underwent surgery and is in critical condition, police said.
Witness told police they saw two men flee the scene in a white Chrysler sedan, officials said. Police later found Mr. Opoku and Mr. Colemen in a vehicle fitting the description near Spinney Road and Route 24 in Flanders, officials said.
Police said Mr. Opoku had been involved in a verbal altercation with the victim earlier in the day.
Both suspects are being held overnight at Southampton Town police headquarters and is scheduled to be arraigned at Southampton Justice Court Thursday morning.
ORIGINAL STORY:
One man is being treated for a gunshot wound to the abdomen following a shooting incident on McKinley Street in Flanders Wednesday afternoon, a Northampton Volunteer Ambulance official said.
The victim was airlifted to Stony Brook University Medical Center following the shooting, which a witness said occurred sometime after 3 p.m.
McKinley Street resident Jamie Mayorga said she was playing in her front yard with her 7-month-old son Damion when she heard two gun shots on her street.
Southampton Town, New York State and Westhampton Village police were all called to the scene, where Southampton PD detectives continue to investigate. Police have declined comment at this time.
McKinley Street remains closed between Oak and Brookhaven avenues.
The victim was airlifted from the parking lot of the nearby David W. Crohan Community Center, ambulance volunteers said.
This is at least the second shooting incident on the East End in the past 48 hours. Three alleged MS-13 gang members, including an Aquebogue teen, were arrested following a shooting incident on South Harbor Road in Southold, police said.
On Saturday, a 19-year-old Riverhead man was shot twice in the back on East Avenue in Riverhead. No arrests have been made in that case.
More photos from the scene: