CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. — Cheektowaga Police are continuing to investigate a violent incident from last Sunday night, involving two men identified as migrants, who were staying in hotel shelters here in Erie County.
Cheektowaga Police Captain Jeffrey Schmidt confirmed that one man who was housed at a hotel in Amherst tried to shoot another man with a rifle at the Quality Inn hotel on Genesee Street.
There was some sort of dispute between them.
Police say the weapon misfired, and then the target victim was beaten and was found at the hotel. He is said to be recovering from his injuries.
Police are still seeking the suspect in the case who escaped after the incident but no description was released. They feel this was a targeted incident without any threat to the general public.
You may recall that last year two sexual abuse cases involving migrants in Cheektowaga hotels caused state officials to post National Guard troops there. Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz told New York City officials not to send any more asylum seekers to the county after over 500 had been bused here.
There is also a pending alleged abuse lawsuit against the National Guard and the DocGo firm which received a $423 million no-bid contract from New York City to help relocate and supervise care for the migrants.
Both Gov. Kathy Hochul and State Attorney General Letitia James said in 2023 there would be investigations of the DocGo contract but so far no results have been released. Some state lawmakers have also called for further scrutiny of that agreement with the firm.
Jewish Family Services has a $22 Million dollar contract to move all the Erie County asylum seekers out of the hotels and into apartments by the end of the year.
A representative of the DocGo firm, which did not have the contract renewed in New York City but is still supervising asylum seekers here in hotels, released a statement:
"Maintaining the safety of every guest in our care is the top priority of the City of New York and DocGo. Immediately after DocGo became aware of the incident, we alerted local law enforcement and emergency medical services. In accordance with the city’s procedures and to maintain a safe environment for all guests, the individuals involved have been discharged. Prior to completing the discharge, DocGo operations staff informed law enforcement of this action. We continue to collaborate with the police department as needed in their ongoing investigation."
2 On your Sides hopes to learn more from Cheektowaga Police on Monday.