Update: Newburgh Shooting Kills 2, Injures 5
Update: Two men have been arrested in connection with the fatal shootings.
"Newburgh's where dreams die and my dream just died," said a grieving father whose daughter was one of the two people killed in Newburgh.
About 15 shots were fired at 119 Broadway in the City of Newburgh during a Halloween party Sunday around 12:45 a.m.
City of Newburgh police have identified the two dead women as 18-year-old Omani Free and 20-year-old Tabitha Cruz, both from Newburgh.
"This is Newburgh where everyone has a gun," Miguel Cruz, Tabitha's father, told PIX11. "They don't believe in solving anything any other way. Newburgh's where dreams die and my dream just died."
Free was a senior at Newburgh Free Academy. She dreamt of going to college to become a designer.
"It had nothing to do with her," Rhonda Valentine-Free, Omani's mother, tearfully told PIX11. "Someone decided to pull out a gun. Omani just happened to be the first victim."
Five other victims were injured. All five are expected to recover, police say. Their names are not being released.
"My thoughts and prayers go out to these young women, their families and loved ones, and to the residents of the City of Newburgh," Representative Sean Patrick Maloney stated. "Folks deserve to feel safe in their homes and trick-or-treating in their neighborhoods on Halloween, yet once again we are left praying for those who had their whole lives ahead of them but have been robbed of their future because of senseless shootings."
The suspects fled the scene after the shooting. Anyone with information is urged to contact the City of Newburgh Police at 845-561-3131.
Filed Under: 119 Broadway, Newburgh, Omani Free, shooting, Tabitha Cruz
Categories: Hudson Valley News, Orange County