[UPDATE BELOW] Police are searching for a man who shot at least six people at two separate locations in Herkimer County. Authorities say four people were fatally shot—two at a car wash in the town of Herkimer, and another two were killed in the town of Mohawk. The Utica Observer-Dispatch reports that the suspect used a long gun for the shootings, which wounded at least two other people.
Kurt Myer
The local fire department also responded to an explosion and house fire in Mohawk, and there's speculation the suspect resided there. (The Observer dispatch reports that after the fire was put out, "police were seen taking about half a dozen long guns from the residence shortly before 11 a.m.") Authorities are searching for "a 50- to 60-year-old slender white male, about 5-foot-11, with white hair and a white beard, last seen wearing a flannel shirt."
According to the latest report, a SWAT team and helicopter have converged on Freddy's Jewelers in Herkimer, and it's believed the suspect is inside. We'll update as more information becomes available.
Update 12:58 p.m.: Police have identified the suspect as 64-year-old Kurt Myers. He remains at large. Investigators believe Myers set his house on fire and walked to a barbershop, where he shot two people dead using a long rifle. “I think this guy is trying to prove a point,” one local man tells the Observer-Dispatch. “It definitely seems like he knew what he was doing.”
