Graphic video: “Scooter shooting” in Elmira; suspect held on unrelated charges
WARNING: VIDEO ABOVE CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES OF A PERSON BEING SHOT
ELMIRA, N.Y. (WETM) – 18 News has confirmed a suspect is being held on unrelated charges in the November 27th drive-by shooting that injured a man in downtown Elmira. 18 News also obtained video that shows a gunman opening fire just before 11 a.m. while riding a scooter the wrong way on West Water Street, near the corner of North Main Street.
A man walking on the sidewalk with a woman was shot twice, but survived. The video shows the victim being shot and falling backwards. The video does not show any blood or injuries.
In an email, Detective William Goodwin told 18 News: “As of Jan 23rd this case remains open. The case is pending DNA laboratory results from the NYSP Forensic Investigation Center. A suspect was established soon after the incident and a search warrant was conducted at an Elmira address later that same day. The suspect has been in CCJ custody on unrelated charges and does not pose a threat to the community.” CCJ stands for Chemung County Jail. NYSP stands for New York State Police.
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18 News also confirmed the suspect being held on an unrelated charge is 26-year-old Reginald McBride of Elmira. As 18 News reported on December 4th, police say McBride was arrested after a traffic stop near Madison Avenue and East Church Street on December 1st. Police say McBride was driving with a suspended license. Police say when they tried to arrest McBride, he allegedly punched one of the officers in the face, causing an injury. McBride was arrested and charged with Aggravated Unlicensed Operation in the third degree, a misdemeanor, and Assault in the second degree, a class D felony.
On January 3rd, 18 News asked Elmira PD for an update on the case. Detective Goodwin said no arrests had been made in the drive-by shooting. He added there were no arrests mainly because witnesses and or victims were not cooperating with investigators. Det. Goodwin said that’s why investigators were waiting for DNA test results from New York State Police. Tuesday, Detective Goodwin told 18 News he said there were no arrests in the case on Jan. 3rd because McBride had not been arrested or charged in the shooting yet. 18 News was not told McBride was being held on unrelated charges. Tuesday, Detective Goodwin told 18 News there was no need to release video of the suspect after the shooting because he had already been identified.
Even though the “mini scooter” the suspect was riding on had no license plate, Det. Goodwin said the vehicle was picked up by one of the City’s Flock Cameras. Det. Goodwin told 18 News the Flock camera was able to track the make and model of the suspect’s vehicle.
18 News reached out to Police Chief Kris Thorne, Deputy Chief Scott Packard, Mayor Dan Mandell and City Manager Michael Collins to ask why 18 News was not told a suspect was in custody on an unrelated charge, in our request for a status update on January 3rd. We also asked why the public was not informed the suspect was no longer a threat to the community. As of this publication, we have not heard back.
In an interview on January 3rd, Caitlynn McConnell, the co-owner of Copy Express told 18 News she initially didn’t realize someone had opened fire until police started responding to the scene.
“We heard two pops, it sounded like something was dropped. There’s a lot of construction across the street.”
“We saw the man on the scooter drive down the street on the wrong side of the street. It’s crazy that something like that can happen in downtown in the middle of the day,” McConnell said.
An employee at “TATVibe Tattoos” told 18 News two workers and a customer ran out and pulled the victim inside the store. We’re told the customer had medical training and started treating his wounds. Witnesses say the victim was shot twice, in the back and one of his legs. Police say the victim was stable.
The shooting was caught on video by the building’s security cameras. The owner of the building said she handed the video over to police.
Data from Elmira Police that shows there were a total of 75 reported shootings in the Elmira in 2023. Elmira Detective Lt. William Goodwin told 18 News 26 of those reported shootings were confirmed to be gunshots. Lt. Goodwin says there were a total of 62 calls for gunshots in 2022. 8 of those reports were confirmed to be shootings. However, due to a switch to a new reporting system, Elmira Police could not register both “confirmed” and “unconfirmed” shootings prior to October of 2022.
When looking at total reported shootings, both confirmed and confirmed, the 75 reported in 2023 represent an increase of nearly 21% from a total of 62 reported shootings in 2022.
In December of 2023, Detective Goodwin said there 7 calls for gunshots. 3 of them were confirmed.
In November of 2023 there were 3 reported gunshots. One of them was confirmed. That’s down from 5 reported shootings in November of 2022. One of those shootings was confirmed.
Detective Goodwin says there were 3 reported shootings in October of 2023. One of them was confirmed. Police say that’s down from 13 reported shootings in October of 2022. 7 of those shootings were confirmed.
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