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New York police were able to apprehend Gabriel DeWitt Wilson roughly four hours after he opened fire in a Long Island Stop & Shop on April 20, 2021. Wilson was an employee of the grocery store. Forty minutes before he opened fire, Wilson had asked for a transfer.
Wilson left the store only to return with a .380-caliber semiautomatic pistol. He then made his way to the second-floor manager’s office before opening fire on five of his co-workers. There were many customers in the New York supermarket.
The disgruntled employee killed 49-year-old Ray Wishropp a manager at the New York store. A 26-year-old woman was shot once in her shoulder. One other male victim suffered from two gunshots to the shoulder and a grazed cheek.
According to Nassau County Police Det. Lt. Stephen Fitzpatrick, Wilson wanted to transfer from the West Hempstead location to one in Hempstead. The New York officer continued on by saying the first meeting “was not confrontational at that time.”
The manager told Wilson to have the Hempstead manager call the office to discuss the transfer. Wilson left the vicinity “without any violence.” He worked at the store as a shopping cart collector. According to officers, Wilson had been called into meeting with store managers on numerous occasions. He also had ongoing issues with other employees.
Fitzpatrick said, the New York shooting suspect “was having unwanted advances toward” female co-workers. Wilson was also “was having disputes with other workers and threatening them.”
According to store officials, there were no concerns or formal complaints launched against Wilson. They had no idea he would ever open fire one day.
New York officers were able to arrest Wilson at a nearby apartment building — located on Terrance Avenue in Hempstead. Investigators did not immediately find the weapon used in the shooting.
Fitzpatrick stated that New York officers were “out right now retracing his steps trying to … find the gun.” Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas stated the suspect has been charged with second-degree murder and attempted murder. If Wilson is convicted of these charges he faces 25 years to life behind bars.
Written by Sheena Robertson
Source:
NBC News: Employee requested transfer before deadly Long Island grocery store shooting, police say; by David K. Li
CNN: Man held in connection with grocery shooting in West Hempstead, New York, police say; by Kristina Sguelgia, Jason Hanna, and Amir Vera
Featured and Top Image Courtesy of Ciorra Photography’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License