# Gun battle erupts in downtown eatery.



## USMCTrooper (Oct 23, 2003)

*Six Shot at Springfield Restaurant*

One person was killed and five others were wounded when gunfire erupted at a restaurant just two hours into the new year. Springfield Police say the shooting started after someone spilled a drink on another customer at Kennedy Fried Chicken on Main Street.

Police say there were 50 people in the restaurant at the time of the shooting at 2:15 Monday morning. Spokesperson Jennifer Flagg says one person was killed, three were seriously wounded, and two suffered non-life threatening injuries. She says all six have lengthy criminal records. We'll have more tonight on CBS 3 Springfield News and here at cbs3springfield.com.

SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS (WWLP) A spilled soda sparked a hail of gunfire inside a packed downtown restaurant. Springfield Police arrived to find six people shot, two critically, one of which later died at the hospital. 22News Reporter Anthony DiLorenzo has the latest on this restaurant rampage.

Just two hours into the New Year, Springfield police already logged their first homicide. We're told 50 people had gathered inside, when an argument reportedly spiraled out of control -- several patrons opened fire causing a dispute to turn deadly.

As the rain fell Monday morning, crime scene investigators poured over the city's first murder scene just hours into 2007. "Trying to start the New Year off right, I guess its not going to happen like that," said Amo Rodriguez, who heard shots fired.

Shell casings peppered Main Street after a barrage of bullets flew inside Kennedy Fried Chicken leaving 18-year-old Karmeen Halette dead and five other's wounded. The chaos broke out just after 2:00 am; it happened when a customer reportedly spilled his drink on another man- that's when he apparently shot the man in the head. *Several other people pulled out their guns and started riddling each other and the restaurant with bullets. 
*
One witness to the violence describes the scene. "We all heard gunshots we were just down the street," said Rodriguez. "People were crying, worried, a lot of cops and commotion."

City councilor Domenic Sarno calls this an epidemic of youth violence. "Starting to shoot each other over spilled soda, absolutely ridiculous and shameful." He said the restaurant is no stranger to police and the hammer needs to fall. "We need to meet with police, license commission, and the owners to see what we can do to resolve the issue, late night spots getting out congregating there."

Springfield police emphasized all of the wounded have lengthy criminal records. Residents are tired of the brash behavior. "It's nothing new, just getting worse and worse by the minute."

26-year-old Aaron Ramsey was arrested on-scene for possession of a firearm, but it is not clear if he was involved with the shootings.

This place is becoming like Carson City....


----------



## OutOfManyOne (Mar 2, 2006)

> at Kennedy Fried Chicken


But of course.


----------



## justanotherparatrooper (Aug 27, 2006)

"This place is becoming like Carson City...."
hell no, I grew up 20 miles from there, that whole 'wild west ' shit is shit....was never as bad as hollywood made it. "an armed society is a polite society"


----------



## Bassfever (Jan 4, 2007)

Thats only a block or so from my friends Cafe'. Its getting to the point where I dont want to go down there anymore.


----------



## Nachtwächter (Dec 9, 2005)

*Kennedy chicken outlets face scrutiny*

*Several obstacles to getting a permit to reopen face the owners of the Kennedy Fried Chicken in Springfield.* 
Thursday, January 04, 2007

By JACK FLYNN, MICHAEL BURKE andMARLA GOLDBERGStaff writersSPRINGFIELD - Three days after a gun battle erupted inside a crowded Kennedy Fried Chicken outlet, the restaurant is facing sudden scrutiny over its management, fire safety, crowd control and tax status. 
The restaurant, shut down for a permit violation on Tuesday after six people were shot early Monday, applied for a new permit yesterday. The request is scheduled to be heard Jan. 11 by the License Commission. 
A spilled drink triggered a shoot-out inside the restaurant on New Year's Day, killing an 18-year-old Springfield man, wounding five others, and scattering patrons and passersby as bars were emptying in the club district, police said. 
Meanwhile, a Kennedy Fried Chicken outlet in Holyoke also faces criticism. The restaurant at 333-335 High St., which is under different ownership, has generated 89 calls to police since opening in 2004, said Holyoke Police Chief Anthony R. Scott. 
Springfield police report 143 calls since the Kennedy Fried Chicken opened at 1673 Main St. in 2004. The owners, who also run another outlet on 130 Walnut St., could not be reached for comment yesterday. 
The business is listed as simply Kennedy Fried Chicken in the application filed yesterday with the city license officials. But the Massachusetts Secretary of State's office lists the owners as 786 Three Partners Inc. of Springfield. In a 2003 filing with the city Health and Human Services Office, the restaurant identifies its owners as the Kalam Corp., based in Worcester. 
A West Springfield resident listed as a restaurant manger, Zia Shadan, had no comment last night. 
The shop was closed Tuesday after city officials discovered its annual food-serving permit had expired. 
The fried chicken outlet could have a much more difficult time getting a permit for 2007 than in past years. Beyond outrage by Mayor Charles V. Ryan and other officials over the shooting, the restaurant faces several legal obstacles. 
City records show that JRH Realty Inc., the shop's Holyoke-based landlord, has a lien on the building for $5,100 in unpaid city taxes in 2006, as well as four liens for delinquent fees from the Springfield Business Improvement District, the downtown business group. 
Under rules adopted by Ryan, no restaurant can get a license if city taxes are owed on the building it occupies. 
The franchise also lacks proof that its fire alarm and fire suppression equipment have been tested, violations that must be corrected before it can reopen, Fire Marshal John F. Cossaboom said. During an inspection Tuesday, there was no sign of an occupancy permit, Cossaboom said, raising questions about what the restaurant's legal capacity. 
A City Council's subcommittee will review the restaurant's management tomorrow . 
In Holyoke, Chief Scott said the 89 calls received for Kennedy Fried Chicken involved assaults, general disturbances, 911 hangups, reports of suspicious persons, and a number of arrests. 
The owner of the Kennedy Fried Chicken Holyoke store is listed with the Holyoke City Clerk's office as Yasser Hussan of 323 High St., and his corporation is listed as Mahboob Inc. of the same address. He could not be reached for comment. 
Holyoke Mayor Michael J. Sullivan said he has personally spoken to Kennedy Fried Chicken store personnel about numerous complaints by residents. "I told them they have to be good neighbors and be more responsible for what happens." 
In Springfield, the man charged with the fatal shooting of Kameen Hallett inside the chicken franchise, Kenneth L. Hawkins, Jr., 25, remained hospitalized yesterday at Baystate Medical Center. 
Hawkins, of 157 Florence St., had emergency surgery for a spinal cord injury after being shot in the neck on Monday, a police report stated. 
Judge Jacques C. Leroy, along with Hawkins' lawyer Donald W. Frank, and a prosecutor made tentative plans to go to Hawkins bedside today, so he can enter initial pleas there to murder and other charges. 
Meanwhile, questions remain about whether a shooting on Tuesday in the Six Corners neighborhood, six doors away from Hallett's home, was related to the teenager's death. 
Yesterday, Steven R. Ramsey II, 31, of 61 Greene St., was ordered held on $150,000 cash or $1.5 million bond, after pleading innocent to armed assault with intent to murder and other crimes against Anthony Hatwood, 42, of 99 Leyfred Terrace. A bail hearing is set for Feb. 5.


----------



## Bassfever (Jan 4, 2007)

The fast food joint shut down after a deadly shooting there rang in the New Year. "Those five shot people accounted for 148 separate criminal arraignments," said Flynn.


----------



## Nachtwächter (Dec 9, 2005)

This maybe a repost, but I think it fits here.

*Latest From The Republican*









*Monday, October 30, 2006*








*Police commissioner disputes city's 'most dangerous' ranking*
*By MIKE PLAISANCE 
[email protected] *

SPRINGFIELD - Police Commissioner Edward A. Flynn today said residents and visitors can feel safe going to museums or dining downtown despite a Kansas publisher's ranking Springfield the most dangerous city in the state. 
*
The ranking by Morgan Quitno Press of Lawrence, Kan., in its annual publication was "irresponsible" because it failed to account for key factors that shape Springfield, like poverty and numerous crimes consisting of criminals assaulting each other, Flynn said.*

"It's a safe city for the vast majority of our residents," Flynn said at a press conference.

"We've got the same hot spots that everybody's got. I hope to God I don't sound defensive. I don't feel defensive. If you want to go to the (Naismith Memorial Basketball) Hall of Fame, go, you're going to be safe.* If you want to get something to eat downtown, do, you're going to be safe," Flynn said. *

Morgan Quitno Press published what it calls its 13th annual "City Crime Rankings" based on FBI crime statistics for 2005 and released last month.

Springfield was deemed the the Bay State's most dangerous city by virtue of scoring the highest in a formula that Morgan Quitno Press itself says on its Web site is a complicated calculation.

Other Massachusetts cities in the study were Newton, which ranked as the state's safest, Boston, Brockton, Cambridge, New Bedford, Lynn, Worcester and Somerville.

The multistep process Morgan Quitno Press used compares a community's violent crime - defined as murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and motor vehicle theft - to the national average for a given crime category per 100,000 population.

The federal 2000 census showed Springfield's population to be 152,082.

According to the Morgan Quitno Press Web site: "The outcome of this equation was then multiplied by a weight assigned to each of the six crime categories. Each of the six crimes was given equal weight. By weighting each crime equally, cities are compared based purely on their crime rates and how they stack up to the national average for a particular crime category. These weighted numbers then were added together for a city or metro area's final score. Finally, these scores were ranked from lowest to highest to determine which cities and metropolitan areas were safest and most dangerous."

An official with Morgan Quitno Press didn't return a call seeking comment.

Flynn provided statistics that showed violent crime here for this year through Wednesday is down 2 percent compared to the same period last year.

_More details tomorrow in The Republican. _


----------



## Nachtwächter (Dec 9, 2005)

*Thursday, January 04, 2007*















*Mothers protest police characterization of victims*
*By JACK FLYNN* 
*and MARLA GOLDBERG *
*Republican staff writers *
SPRINGFIELD - The mother of a man wounded in a downtown gun battle urged police today to stop highlighting her son's arrest record, the same day a suspect in the New Year's Day shoot-out pleaded innocent to a murder charge from his hospital bed.

Speaking at a press conference with other mothers who lost sons to violence, Francena Smallwood, of Springfield, said her son Keyshawn Narcisse's police record had nothing to do with the fire fight inside the crowded Kennedy Fried Chicken outlet on Main Street, one of the worst gun incidents in the city's recent history.

"He didn't deserve to be shot," said Smallwood, whose son Tyrell D. Narcisse, 20, of Springfield, was shot to death in June. "This is especially hurtful to my family."

The event was held by Mothers on a Mission, a support group for families who lost members to violent crime. The women - including Sheila A. Shepard, whose twins, Darnell and Daylan, were gunned down in 2004 - said Police Commissioner Edward A. Flynn was blaming the men shot on Monday for a broader culture of violence in Springfield.

"Everyone is a victim; we're all victims," of violence, said the group's president, Cynthia M. Farmer, adding that better recreational and parent training programs would do more to combat violence than blaming individual families.

The shoot-out killed 18-year old Kameen Hallett, of Springfield, and left five others, including Smallwood's son, hospitalized with bullet wounds.

Characterizing the incident as a battle between "career criminals" with 158 adult arrests between them, Flynn said earlier this week that he would not give the wounded men "the dignity of being called victims" given their backgrounds. The police would not identify shoot-out victims who were not charged in the case, nor specify any past charges or convictions against them.

Since taking over the city's top police job in March, Flynn has said that much of the city's crime comes from a subculture of gangs, drugs and guns that too often intimidates witnesses into silence.

Along with members of Alive With Awareness, Knowledge and Empowerment, the grassroots organization sponsoring the mothers support group, Farmer and the others met with Flynn in a private session yesterday at police headquarters. None of the participants could be reached for comment.

Also yesterday, Kenneth Hawkins, 25, charged with killing Hallett, pleaded innocent from his hospital bed at Baystate Medical Center to murder, use of a firearm to commit a felony, and possession of a firearm without an identification card. A pre-trial conference is set for Feb. 2.

Baystate Health wouldn't let a reporter cover the arraignment, a proceeding that otherwise would have taken place in Springfield District Court.


----------

