Yonkers Police: 5 people shot in 2 incidents
YONKERS, N.Y. -- An investigation is underway Sunday in Yonkers after police said five people were shot during two incidents on Saturday night.
Police tape was still wrapped around the crime scene in Pitkin Park on Sunday morning.
"It was very scary, very scary," Yonkers resident Mos Asia said. "There were a lot of people, kids and everything."
Asia told CBS2's Leah Mishkin she was in the park around 9 p.m. Saturday when the shots were fired. Her reaction was to drop to the ground and get low until police arrived on scene.
"That's when everybody got up off the floor and started running," Asia said.
We're told police were at the park for a memorial service. Police say it was for a man who was killed in Yonkers in 2009 in a gang-related shooting.
"He was a very well-known person, a rapper from Yonkers," Asia said.
Now police are investigating whether this incident was gang-related, as well.
We're told the two victims are both 18 years old. A woman was shot in the elbow and is in stable condition. The other victim, a man, was shot in the chest and was listed in critical but stable condition as of Sunday morning.
"Our gang units have been deployed, and they're looking into their contacts and trying to figure out if or how there's a gang connection," Police Commissioner Christopher Sapienza said.
Police say less than two hours later, they responded to another report of shots fired near 43 School Street, about half a mile away from the park.
There, police found three gunshot victims - a 42-year-old man, 30-year-old woman and a 41-year-old man.
"The victims were standing in front of a deli, and they were shot at," Sapienza said.
Glass from the shattered deli door was scattered on the street.
At this point, they're trying to determine if the two shootings are related.
"Normally, the gang activity is much younger," Sapienza said. "That's why we want to look into that second shooting a little bit more to see what the reason is behind it."
The commissioner also says he has deployed more units in some locations.
"The Yonkers Police Department does not tolerate senseless acts of violence in the likes of what we saw last night," Sapienza said. "Those that wish to do harm to our residents in such heinous acts have no place in this city. Our investigators will be working tirelessly to identify and apprehend the perpetrators for both of these incidents."
Anyone with information is urged to call the Detective Division at 914-377-7724. Tips can also be submitted anonymously online here or by texting "YPD" to 847411.
