Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Local shooting strikes close.

I don't often get specific with names and such when it comes to most of my students, but on this occasion I'll make an exception.

Back during the Nicole era (Nicole Bingaman and Nicole Snyder), we had a particularly difficult student. I remember a particular "run in" he had with Nicole Snyder.

Sadly, I have heard today, that he was killed last night in a shooting.

3 in custody following Snyder County murder


By Marcia Moore
The Daily Item


SHAMOKIN DAM — Three men allegedly involved in the fatal shooting of a 19-year-old man at an apartment off Routes 11-15 late Monday are in state police custody.

Steven Rodriguez was shot at an apartment at 2-78 Susquehanna Trail around 11:30 p.m. Monday and died about an hour later at Sunbury Community Hospital. An autopsy is scheduled for today at Lehigh Valley Medical Center in Allentown.

Law enforcement were on the alleged suspects' tails shortly after the shooting.

Sometime around 12:30 a.m., Fred Loreman, 43, was listening to his police scanner inside his house at the corner of Old Route 15 and New Columbia Road when he heard a vehicle was being pursued in his neighborhood.

"My ears perked up," Loreman said.

He stuck his head outside the kitchen door and saw a fast-moving vehicle traveling north on Old Route 15 with police cars in close pursuit.

"Thank God the cops were behind him with lights and sirens because that guy was really moving," he said.

Loreman said it appeared the suspect may have been trying to get onto Routes 15 or 80 and made a wrong turn and crashed into a tree behind a Short Stop convenient store next to his home.

"I was scared," he said. "I thought he was going to hit my house. I've got two young kids and they were asleep."

The occupants of the car fled the accident site, running across a creek and into a housing complex where they were nabbed.

"There were dozens of police in the area, swarming like bees," Loreman said, describing the action as like "watching an episode of 'Cops'" on television.

And from TalkRadio 1380 WMLP News --

Three charged in Snyder County homicide

SELINSGROVE – Three men have been charged with felony counts of homicide after the shooting and killing of 19-year-old Steven Rodriguez Monday night at an apartment near Runyon Road along Routes 11/15 in Monroe Township, Snyder County. 25-year-old Abdul Malik Saeed Walker of Williamsport, 25-year-old Ibrahim Musa Wells of Mill Hall and 27-year-old David Cannie of Philadelphia were arraigned Tuesday before District Judge Edward Mihalik. Rodriguez was shot around 11:30p.m., and died about an hour later at Sunbury Community Hospital. Walker, Wells and Cannie all fled the scene of the crime in a vehicle, which was later spotted in Union County. That vehicle then reportedly crashed near the Short Stop gas station in New Columbia and the three were taken into custody.
Snyder County District Attorney Mike Sholley says he believes the three knew Rodriguez. He says he does not believe the shooting was gang-related and would not confirm if it was drug-related. He says there were several witnesses to the crime. Weapons known to be involved include a shotgun and a 9mm pistol. Walker, Wells and Cannie are being held without bail in Snyder County Prison.
This is the second young person who was in our program to have died a tragic death since I started working for PATH. (the other was Ryan Francis - who I had living with me in Foster Care) It calls to question the role we - the teachers, foster parents, caseworkers, and all the others involved - have in the lives of the young people we interact with.

The pessimist might say that incidents like this one show that we have failed. But I wonder, how many youth have we had in our program that we have managed to detour onto a less destructive path?

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