The shooting of four teens in the city of Newburgh has prompted closure of all campuses of Newburgh Free Academy on Thursday and Friday.
On November 17th, 2at 3:31pm City of Newburgh Police received a ShotSpotter notification for the area of William Street and Carson Avenue. As officers were responding the area they were directed to the area of 98 William Street where three gunshot victims were located.
Two victims had sustained gunshot wounds to their legs and one male had sustained two gunshot wounds to his stomach. The victims were transported to a local hospital. Police were notified of a fourth gunshot victim at the hospital. This victim also male, had sustained gunshot wounds to his legs. The victims range in age from 16-18 and are all Newburgh residents.
These incidents are currently under investigation by City of Newburgh Detectives, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, the FBI-led Hudson Valley Safe Streets Taskforce and the New York State Police.
Anyone with any information is asked to call City of Newburgh Detectives at 845-569-7509.
"The safety of everyone who enters our school and district buildings remains our highest priority. After an incident involving young people occurred last night, the district felt it best to close the high school buildings," wrote Acting Superintendent Ed Forgit on Thursday. "This is giving our administrators time to work with local authorities and internal teams to assess the situation and the impact it may have on our school community.
"Moving forward, we have decided that Newburgh Free Academy, all three campuses, will remain closed for Friday, November 19th to allow time to implement a cohesive plan of action to address the safety and social-emotional concerns of our scholars, faculty, and staff. All faculty and staff should report at their regular times. All other schools will be open and operate on their regular schedule. The district has decided to keep the elementary and middle schools open because we whole-heartedly agree that our schools are a safe haven for our scholars. Our school buildings and our school employees are pillars of our community. We know that our schools are a place that offer support and a nurturing environment that provides a safe space, and allows for consistency for each of our scholars. "
The Police Department has scheduled a press conference for Friday at 5 p.m. to provide updates on the incident.