Questions Surround Man Shot In Back/ Police Release Few Details After Man Was Shot Near Border Of Hanover Township And Wilkes-barre Thursday Night

By DAVID WEISS and KRIS WERNOWSKY [email protected] and

Saturday, July 23, 2005 Page: 3A

Township police are investigating a shooting that occurred late Thursday
night near East Division Street, and they are saying little else.

“Hey, I don’t have to explain anything,” said police chief William Howatt.
Howatt did not release the victim’s name or age and didn’t know if the
victim survived the shooting.

He would not say if anyone was arrested. What he did say was that a black
male was shot and police are investigating.

Police late Thursday night said the man was shot by an unidentified man
while he walked near a culm bank in the Goose Island section of Wilkes-Barre
near the Hanover Township line.

The victim walked to the Newtown Volunteer Fire Department’s bazaar, about
a half mile away, where firefighters stabilized his injuries around 11:45 p.m.

Police say the man was taken to an area hospital by helicopter. The victim
was cognizant enough to speak with police before being flown.

Newtown fire Chief Dan McGreevy was a few feet away from where the
commotion began. He said he noticed something wrong when he saw rescue workers
wheel a gurney into the station.

He said the man appeared to have a single gunshot wound on the inside of
his left shoulder blade.

There were initial reports of multiple gunshot wounds, according to
McGreevy but the validity of that claim could not be verified.

McGreevy said the victim, who appeared to be in his early 20s, might have
made a lucky decision by choosing to walk in the direction of the bazaar
populated by several firefighters, paramedics and constables.

“Us being here, he probably saved his own life,” McGreevy said. “All he had
to do was walk off in the other direction and who knows what would have
happened.”

The ruckus caused firefighters to close down their annual fund-raiser about
a half and hour early and McGreevy stressed that the shooting didn’t occur at
the site of the bazaar.

“I just hope this doesn’t give us a bad name,” he said.