Police Probe Pair Of Wild Crimes In Bloody Afternoon On Staten Island
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Police late Tuesday were trying to figure out whether two wild crimes on Staten Island were connected.
In one case, a gunman was hit and killed by a minivan. In the other, a woman in her 60s was shot and critically injured near a bus stop.
Chopper 2 was live over the scene after police say shots rang out around Jersey Street in the St. George section around 12:30 p.m. Investigators canvassed the area after police discovered the victim lying unconscious with a gunshot wound to her face.
The victim's niece says her aunt, Frances Williams, was waiting at the stop to go to her job as a home care aid when she was shot.
"Somebody called me so I came up the street to find out what was going on with my aunt and they said she's shot in the neck and she's in critical condition," Priscilla Lewis said.
The shooting happened just blocks away from the Richmond County Courthouse where minutes earlier a chaotic scene had just unfolded.
A court spokesperson says a fight happened just outside the building. Court officers ran after those involved, but took cover when one man began shooting at a van full of people from a rival group.
The van crashed into the gunman, killing him before slamming into a nearby home. Another person was badly hurt and four others were taken into custody.
It wasn't immediately clear why Williams was shot as police worked to determine if the two incidents were connected.