Schenectady HS student dies in shooting, another teen injured

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. ( NEWS10 )– Police are investigating a homicide after a 15-year-old boy was shot and killed and a 13-year-old was injured Saturday night in Schenectady. Police identified the 15-year-old victim as Dubar T. Knowles, who was a ninth grader at Schenectady High School.

According to police, a 13-year-old girl, who goes to Oneida Middle School, was also shot and is recovering from surgery at a local hospital. She is currently in stable condition.

Officers responded around 11:20 p.m. Saturday to the 1100 block of Congress Street for multiple calls of gunshots. When they arrived, a large crowd of people fled on foot, and they found Knowles with a gunshot wound to the torso in the backyard. Police believed there was a party going on.

“We believe that this all occurred at one spot so again there was a party going on,” said Lieutenant Ryan Macherone, public information officer for Schenectady Police Department. “Multiple people were there many of which we believe to be juveniles.”

Dubar Knowles died in the hospital early Sunday morning. Police found the 13-year-old girl a few blocks away from the party on Chrisler Avenue, suffering a gunshot wound to the head/neck area. The Schenectady Fire Department treated both victims before they were transported to local hospitals.

Officers said the girl is in stable condition and they are continuing to investigate.

“What should be a good, happy occasion with lots of people celebrating, turned so tragic, so quickly and so that’s one of those things that we’re trying to figure out right now,” said Lt. Macherone.

Both victims were part of Schenectady City School District. Superintendent Carlos M. Cotto released a letter on Sunday that shared the district’s condolences. Part of that letter also shared details on counseling services for students.

“We expect a variety of reactions to this loss and will have our support team ready,” Cotto said. “Social workers and counselors will be on hand and available at school on Tuesday for anyone who needs support and to talk.”

Officers are still looking for a suspect or suspects in this investigation, and they’re working with New York State police to find out more.

“We don’t know if its one individual or multiple individuals, we don’t have anyone in custody right now and we’re not currently questioning anyone at this time, but we’re certainly running down leads,” said Lt. Macherone.

Police also confirmed that Dubar Knowles’ sister was Medina Knowles, who was also killed by a gunshot wound in September 2016. Medina was only 17 years old at the time, and also a student at Schenectady High School. Since then, Medina’s killer has since been caught and was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.

Anyone with information about the shooting can contact the Schenectady Police Department tip line at (518) 788-6566. Stay with NEWS10 as more information becomes available.

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