CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. (AP) — It’s a “miracle” more people weren’t hurt when a man dressed in camouflage, wearing body armor and armed with two rifles sprayed a retail store with bullets, wounding one man, before being tackled by police, authorities said.
In this Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2017 photo provided by the Cheektowaga Police department is body armor used by Travis Green in a shooting in Cheektowaga, N.Y. Authorities say it’s a “miracle” that more people weren’t shot when Green, armed with two semi-automatic rifles opened fire on a suburban Buffalo retail store, wounding one man before being tackled by police. He was arraigned Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2017 in town court on charges that included attempted murder, assault, criminal use of a firearm and resisting arrest. (Cheektowaga Police Department via AP)
Police in Cheektowaga, near Buffalo, said the gunfire erupted around 2:45 p.m. Tuesday outside a Dollar General store. The gunman fired repeatedly at the store’s entrance from outside while several customers and employees were inside, police Chief David Zack said.
This Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2017 photo provided by the Cheektowaga Police department shows Travis Green, who has been arrested in the shooting in Cheektowaga, N.Y. (Cheektowaga Police Department via AP)
When police arrived, witnesses pointed out the gunman, who attempted to run away before being tackled by the officers a short distance from the store, located in a stand-alone building on a side street in a commercial district. No other shots were fired during his capture, police aid.
A 53-year-old Cheektowaga man suffered a gunshot wound to his shoulder, officials said. Police haven’t said if he was a customer or a store employee.
Police identified the suspect as Travis Green, 29, of Buffalo. His mother said her son and his wife had recently broken up, but police said they were still trying to determine a motive for what Zack called an “unprovoked attack.”
Zack said there was initial confusion over the exact location of the Dollar General because there are six of them in Cheektowaga, a sprawling suburb just east of Buffalo.
“It is a miracle I’m not at this podium reading the names of the dead,” Zack said Tuesday. Considering the number of rounds that hit the store, those inside were “clearly were extremely lucky,” the police chief said.
A pump-action, AR-15-style rifle was used to fire at least 20 rounds during the shooting, police said at a Wednesday news conference. Another 850 rounds and what appeared to be a semi-automatic rifle with ammunition magazines were found in his car, police said. (Authorities had earlier described both weapons as being semi-automatic rifles.)
Green was arraigned Wednesday morning in town court on charges that included attempted murder, assault, criminal use of a firearm and resisting arrest. He pleaded not guilty and was ordered held in the Erie County Jail without bail.
The name of his lawyer wasn’t immediately available.
His mother, Viola Green, was with her son during his arraignment and afterward said he and his wife recently broke up after seven years of marriage. She said her son spent part of the day Tuesday moving his things out of their house.
“I guess the stress took over,” Viola Green said.
Police said Green had walked into the store unarmed, left the building and then began shooting soon after. Police said two civilians at a nearby business heard the gunfire and started chasing Green, who had dropped the rifle.
“There’s no question these individuals saved lives yesterday,” Zack said. “They are heroes.”
Police began arriving on the scene while the civilians were chasing Green. A dashboard video from one of the police cars shows Green running along a road with officers in pursuit before one of the officers knocks him over a guardrail. Other officers with guns drawn then arrive while Green is subdued.
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