# OIS domestic a&b Syracuse. 12/2019



## RodneyFarva (Jan 18, 2007)

Syracuse, NY -- A young Syracuse boy lay dazed and critically wounded against a couch after being shot in the back by his own uncle earlier this month in a Near West Side residence.

"Mommy! Mommy!" little Miguel Everson moaned.

The gunman, Miguel Russo, 31, had come to the house of his sister -- the boy's mother -- around 8 p.m. Dec. 3 on Fenton Street, acting erratically. He pulled out a gun and fired once into the floor, family later told police.

Then Russo said: "Do you trust me?" before firing again into the back of the little boy -- his namesake.

Russo then left the home at 119 Fenton St. momentarily, according to video from a nearby school. But before getting to his car, he returned to find his sisters had locked him out. Russo fired eight to 10 bullets into the lock, then came back in the home

Meanwhile, little Miguel's mother, Roshawnda, and her sister, Michelle, had called 911. Police were already on the way after the shooting detection system ShotSpotter had alerted them to the shots being fired.

But neither sister told 911 whether the shooter was still on-scene, Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick said Thursday at a news conference.

Syracuse Police Officer Matthew Tynan immediately saw the little boy crying on the couch near the front door. But as he approached, the older Miguel Russo emerged from another room with a handgun, Fitzpatrick said.

What happened next was captured on body-worn camera from Officer Collin Flagler, who was immediately behind Tynan.

"Drop that gun! Drop that gun!" Tynan can be heard yelling in the video.

Instead, the gunman reached for Tynan, while switching the gun from his left to right hand. He made contact with the officer as he appeared to point the gun in the officer's direction, the video shows.

That's when Tynan fired six times, striking the older Miguel Russo in the right arm and chest, Fitzpatrick said. The chest wound turned out to be fatal, the DA said.

Fitzpatrick announced the conclusion Thursday of a grand jury investigation into Officer Tynan's actions in a news conference in which he praised the officer's actions as helping to prevent further mayhem that day. The grand jury cleared Tynan of wrongdoing, the DA said.

The young boy remains hospitalized, but his condition is stable and he's expected to survive, Fitzpatrick said. Now, family is mostly concerned about nerve damage that may make it difficult for him to walk. But he's going to survive, the DA said.

The DA decided to release nearly 10 minutes of tense -- and sometimes heart-wrenching -- body-worn camera of the incident, which concludes with Officer Flagler carrying the injured child -- still wearing a green Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles t-shirt -- to safety. Officers can be heard clearing a path for the injured child as he's rushed to a waiting ambulance.

"You got it, buddy! Hang in there! Hang in there!" Flagler implores the child, who moans and called for his mommy as the officer carried him.

The beginning of the video shows the tense moments in which the uncle threatened officers with a gun, reached for the officer and was shot.

The next several minutes, officers can be heard warning that the uncle was still holding the weapon while moving on the ground. He apparently never let go of the weapon.

Officers implored the uncle to let them tend to the child, but they couldn't enter because of the perceived threat of the uncle with the gun. Eventually, officers determined the gunman wasn't moving and got the kid out.

It turned out that the elder Russo didn't have bullets in his unregistered handgun with no serial number. Officers had no way of knowing that at the time, Fitzpatrick said.

It's also unclear whether Russo's movements on the ground were intentional, or his body's response to the lethal gunshot wound.

In any case, Fitzpatrick said his first reaction to the video was appreciation for the officers' actions. And that was coupled with his sympathy for the little boy.

"What you saw here today is SPD's finest," the DA said. "That situation could have been far more deadly than it was."

But as a father himself, Fitzpatrick said the little boy's agony pained him. "The first time I saw it, I cried," he said.

The DA concluded by bemoaning the violence and mental health issues that cause these types of tragedies.

But he saved his biggest wrath for the prevalence of untraceable guns, called "ghost guns," that have no serial numbers or other identifying information. It's unclear how the elder Russo got his gun -- he's a convicted gang member and felon -- but such guns can be purchased in parts over the internet and put together, Fitzpatrick said.

As for why Miguel Russo would shoot his own nephew, the DA said there are still no answers. Family had reported Russo acting erratically -- they'd called police earlier that day on him -- but there's no known documented history of mental illness, the DA said.

Authorities are still awaiting tests to see if Russo was drunk or high. But even that wouldn't explain his motive, the DA said.


----------



## Hush (Feb 1, 2009)

I think waiting to effect a rescue because of a perceived threat is unacceptable. If he's holding a gun and refusing to follow commands and you have a child or downed officer you need to get to...continue to inject rounds until the threat is no longer. In this video, look how long they dicked around while the killer stood there holding his rifle. Drop him, and go in for the rescue.


----------



## RodneyFarva (Jan 18, 2007)

Its been a while since I watched that, its still infuriating they didn't turn that guys head into a fine pink mist.


----------



## Hush (Feb 1, 2009)

Ranking officer was a female Sgt, supposedly everyone on scene deferred to her rather than take action. He was still agonal breathing, but probably a goner.... but fuck that shooter. Give him a warning, then drop him and move in for recovery. 

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk


----------



## USAF286 (May 20, 2011)

Yeah I haven’t watched that in a while either but hearing his breathing was tough to listen to. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## LA Copper (Feb 11, 2005)

Hush said:


> I think waiting to effect a rescue because of a perceived threat is unacceptable. If he's holding a gun and refusing to follow commands and you have a child or downed officer you need to get to...continue to inject rounds until the threat is no longer. In this video, look how long they dicked around while the killer stood there holding his rifle. Drop him, and go in for the rescue.


Memories of Deputy Kyle Dinkheller in Georgia.


----------

