Wallkill police reveal new details, avoid questions about murder-suicide on Route 211
TOWN OF WALLKILL – After days of refusing to release more information about Sunday's murder-suicide, Wallkill police revealed new details Thursday night while continuing to avoid answering questions about the incident.
Wallkill Police Chief Robert Hertman sent out an email at 9:13 p.m. that confirmed Sean Armstead, a New York City police officer who was off-duty at the time, fatally shot Edward Wilkins at 567 Route 211 East. Armstead then turned the gun on himself, the release said.
The killings unfolded along a busy commercial stretch of town and were met by silence from Wallkill officials, who have yet to answer questions about what took place and have ignored inquiries for more information.
New details in Wallkill killings
The release on Thursday night identified Wilkins, 20, as a security guard at Resorts World Casino. The Wurtsboro resident was not working at the time of the shooting, which occurred at 10:34 p.m. Sunday.
Wilkins knew Armstead, a 36-year-old resident of the town of Greenville, according to the release. Armstead had been working with the New York Police Department since 2011, the NYPD said.
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On Sunday night, Armstead and Wilkins were alone in separate vehicles, traveling west on Route 211, about 130 feet west of Tower Drive, when Armstead's vehicle struck Wilkins' vehicle, police said.
The men then had "a brief altercation" before Wilkins ran into the parking lot of Buffalo Wild Wings, the release said. Armstead, who was off-duty at the time, pulled out his service weapon and fired at Wilkins, who was hit multiple times, police said.
Armstead then used that handgun to shoot himself once in the head, according to the release. Both men were pronounced dead at the scene.
Police have not commented on the motive for the killings. They said Armstead and Wilkins knew each other, but have not elaborated on the relationship between the men.
Officials stay silent
Wallkill police said they are investigating with the state Attorney General's Office, both of which have been tight-lipped and have ignored repeated requests for more information.
On Monday afternoon Wallkill police sent out an initial press release that referred to the incident as a "murder suicide," but did not indicate who the killer was or how they knew it was a murder-suicide. The release also described the incident as a "shooting," but did not indicate who fired a gun and whether the men had been struck by gunfire.
Monday's release was sent out by Lt. Robert McLymore, who deferred questions to Hertman. Hertman did not return phone messages or emails until Wednesday night, and could not be reached Thursday, when he again did not return messages.
On Tuesday a reporter who went to the police station was told that Hertman was out of the office, and on Wednesday a police dispatcher said he was again out of the office. The dispatcher said Deputy Chief Antonino Spano was also out on Wednesday. When asked who was in charge on Wednesday, the dispatcher deferred to Hertman's secretary, Lisa Costello, who has not returned daily phone messages this week.
Town Supervisor George Serrano, through his secretary, would not comment on the incident or lack of transparency and responsiveness from the police. He deferred questions to them.
The Attorney General's Office said on Monday it was aware of the incident, and did not respond to follow-up emails on Tuesday and Wednesday. It said on Friday that it was still reviewing the matter.
Erin Nolan and Mike Randall contributed to this report.
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This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Wallkill shooting outside Buffalo Wild Wings leads to new details
