CHEEKTOWAGA, NY - We are now hearing from two Cheektowaga police officers who responded to Tuesday's shooting at a Dollar General in the town.
Since then, we've heard about the chaotic scene from witnesses, dispatchers and Samaritans.
Lt. Anthony Filipski and officer Dominic Schwartz are veteran officers of Cheektowaga Police. Both kept cool heads under pressure responding to Tuesday's shooting at the Dollar General on Union Road near French Road. Filipski, seen in dash cam video, took down the suspect.
"It was kind of crazy," he said.
The officers say they got through some initial confusion about which Dollar General to respond to.
And, admit they had questions about what they were running into.
"The thinking is when we get the first call at the Dollar General down here at the airport plaza and down here are we being set up," Filipski said.
It was the real thing.
Police say 29-year-old Travis Green of Cheektowaga fired multiple rounds into the Dollar General, wounding one person and then took off.
"As I saw him run, his hands were obviously empty so I made a determination at that point not to shoot him gave him commands identified myself as police told him to stop get down on the ground he refused," Schwartz said.
Filipski also pursued the suspect.
"You make a determination in a split second how to stop it and i thought at the best time that way was to tackle him on the ground," he said.
Police say Green was found wearing a bulletproof vest and had two rifles and 800 rounds of ammunition in his vehicle. He's pleaded not guilty to charges that including second degree murder and is being held without bail. Police thank the efforts of two Samaritans from Daryll's Car Audio, across the street, who were in a car and say they hit Green when he put his weapons down.
"It took a lot of, courage, yeah, guts, to do what they did," the officer said.