Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The shooting on the I-190 Southbound on Thursday near the Peace Bridge sent shock waves through Western New York.
Someone, on a busy roadway, in which tens of thousands of people travel daily, opened fire on another vehicle, striking three people and killing one.
State Police have called it an isolated incident with no ongoing threat to the community. They shared few other details, saying there is no suspect, and no motive but they are following several leads in the case.
That information has not done much to ease concerns of Western New Yorkers.
New York State Police Trooper James O'Callaghan told WBEN's Brian Mazurowski on Friday that releasing information to the public is a delicate balance.
"We're living in an age where we have information at our fingertips. If we want information on something, we get it. Sometimes, if we put out too much information, it's going to jeopardize our investigation and possibly tip off a suspect," said O'Callaghan.
"Sometimes it's road rage. Sometimes it's an isolated event. Sometimes it's a targeted event. We don't believe this was a targeted event. We believe it was an isolated incident. We don't have a motive. The two people who went to the hospital are just starting to talk. And one is deceased," noted O'Callaghan.
The Trooper said they look at everything they have, but when it comes to public safety, they put out what they believe to be necessary at the time.
O'Callaghan shared more on the difference between isolated and targeted events.
"When we say targeted, that means there is some sort of issue between the victim and the suspect. They either know each other or have a past. It's a specific target. The suspect did something to a specific victim. That's a targeted event. We don't believe that was Thursday's scenario. Isolated means the incident happened but we don't believe it has a ripple effect where the suspect is going to continue to ripple outward with additional crimes."
Eight bullet holes were seen in the city vehicle, including shots that went through the front windshield and side window. Former Buffalo Police Captain Jeff Rinaldo, owner of Vista Security, said "When you have two vehicles moving at between 60mph and 70mph, and someone is starting to fire rounds at a car, the driver of the victim vehicle is probably trying to elude that to some extent. They may have sped up or slowed down. A lot of the trajectory of the bullets may have more to do with where the vehicles were in proximity to each other when the shots were fired," he said.
Asked whether one person could pull off a shooting such as this, while behind the wheel, or if it's more likely there was more than one person involved, Rinaldo said, "Anything is possible. Unfortunately it's not hard to
point a handgun out of a window and fire off ten rounds."
Rinaldo said the most important piece of information is the fact that there are at least two living witnesses to this.
New York State Police are encouraging anyone with possible dash cam video from Thursday to call them at (585)-344-6200.
Law enforcement is looking for a dark-colored, late model Jeep Grand Cherokee.
