One arrested in shootout that took out Holyoke City Hall Annex window

Holyoke City Hall

Holyoke City Hall GAZETTE FILE PHOTO

Staff Report

Published: 07-11-2024 5:57 PM

HOLYOKE — One man is in custody, and another has been identified but was at large in the wake of a shootout Thursday at 1:45 p.m. near High Street and Worcester Place, the mayor’s office reported.

Police said five shots were fired in the exchange. Two wild shots reached the City Hall Annex, adjacent to City Hall, taking out a window at the Board of Health, which is on the third floor. There were no injuries.

Holyoke Police Capt. Isaias Cruz said ShotSpotter technology and recently installed city cameras helped officers identify a car involved in the shooting. The driver went down Cabot Street and crossed the Willimansett Bridge into Chicopee where local police stopped the car and arrested the driver.

Cruz said a gun, ammunition, narcotics and shell casings were found in the car. A warrant has been issued for a man who had been a passenger in the car.

The driver, who was not immediately identified, was charged with possession of a firearm without a license, discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building, and possession of ammunition without a Firearms Identification Card, and possession of Class B narcotics with intent to distribute.

Mayor Joshua A. Garcia said the shooting incident involved two parties. He added that the City Hall Annex was not the intended target.

“I’m disgusted and angry at the gun violence in Holyoke,” he said in a statement. “Every citizen in every ward deserves to feel safe and secure. We need to get guns and drugs off our streets.”

Thursday’s incident came two days after the shooting death of a Holyoke man on West Street. Police are investigating that incident as well as Thursday’s shootout.

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