JAMESTOWN — A man shot multiple times during a large private party downtown was transported to an Erie, Pa., hospital early Sunday. The injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.
Jamestown police around 1:30 a.m. received multiple reports of shots fired inside a building, in the area of West Second and Cherry streets. It was later found that a building at 201 Cherry St. was hosting a “private event where a large number of people were in attendance,” the department said in a news release.
Officers were advised that a man had been shot.
“Due to the large crowd inside and out, officers initially had difficulty in reaching and then applying life saving measures to the victim,” JPD said in a news release. “With the assistance of other officers, they were eventually able to get to the victim, apply a tourniquet, and to get the victim outside to safety and to an ambulance.”
Capt. Robert Samuelson of the Jamestown Police Department said more than 100 people were believed to have been in attendance, hampering efforts to locate the victim.
The man, who reportedly suffered gunshot wounds to his “lower extremities,” was taken to UPMC Chautauqua and later transferred to UPMC Hamot in Erie. He was reportedly not cooperating with investigators.
“This obviously was a very difficult scene for our officers to work as it is believed more than 100 people were in attendance,” Samuelson said. “We are actively working this to identify this shooter as this was extremely dangerous and fortunate that nobody else was struck in this shooting. This shooting is believed to have been targeted and not a random act.”
Officers from Ellicott, Lakewood-Busti, New York State Police and Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office assisted Jamestown at the scene.
A Jamestown man, 36-year-old Dajuan V. Hollingsworth, was charged with obstructing governmental administration after he allegedly attempted to remove items from the scene.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 716-483-7537 or via the anonymous tips line at 716-483-8477.