Syracuse, N.Y. -- The woman who was shot near the Syracuse Rescue Mission this morning was pregnant, police said. She is in critical condition.
A Syracuse police detective who was working a regular detail for the homeless shelter witnessed the shooting at 9:37 a.m. in the 100 block of Dickerson Street, said Syracuse Police Chief Joe Cecile.
An officer calling in from the scene said the woman was shot in the head, according to dispatch reports. Cecile could not confirm that detail.
Police could not say exactly where the shooting happened. Victoria Shires, a spokeswoman for the Rescue Mission, said the shooting was down the street from the homeless help agency’s campus.
The Rescue Mission’s campus takes up almost all of the 100 block of Dickerson Street.
The detective, who has not been identified, called in the shooting to 911 as he chased the suspect, who ran away on foot down Dickerson Street toward the Salt City Market.
The detective drove after the suspect onto South Clinton Street and caught him minutes later, according to dispatch reports. 911 dispatchers said the suspect was stopped when he was hit by a car.
Cecile, who spoke to media at the scene, said police are still sorting out what exactly happened but the suspect was not seriously injured. He was being evaluated at Crouse Hospital.
Police could not provide identities or ages for the suspect or the victim. They could not say how, or if, the two knew each other. Neither they nor the Rescue Mission could say whether either was staying or eating at the shelter.
Shires said the homeless help organization has paid for police details, which include an officer from Syracuse police and the Onondaga County sheriff’s office, for 15 years. They come at different times, most often around mealtime.
This morning’s shooting happened when the last of the breakfast crowd was trickling out. The officers usually stay for some time after meals. The Rescue Mission serves three meals a day to anyone who comes to the dining hall, no questions asked.
It also is a homeless shelter with beds for 192 people. Thursday night, 165 people stayed at the shelter. Shires said the organization has not yet been told the identity of the victim or the shooter, and so could not say whether either was a client of the Rescue Mission.
The agency’s community Christmas party, scheduled for 5 p.m. today, has been postponed. They had ordered enough Dinosaur Bar-B-Que for 500 people, Shires said.
The streets around the Rescue Mission, including Dickerson Street and Clinton Street, continued to be closed this afternoon.
Marnie Eisenstadt writes about people and public affairs in Central New York. Contact her anytime email | Twitter| Facebook | 315-470-2246.