After multiple shelter-in-place orders at Cornell University and other local schools during the afternoon Nov. 9, local police have apprehended two out of three suspects involved in a shots–fired incident.
As of 8:50 p.m. Nov. 9, law enforcement officials believe that the third suspect is no longer in the Cayuga Heights area. According to a press release, the original report of gunfire at 1:23 p.m. is believed to be between two groups of people, and law enforcement does not believe the third suspect poses an immediate threat to the community. His whereabouts and identity are still being investigated.
In a press release from Nov. 9, police said that at 1:23 p.m. Nov. 9 the Ithaca Police Department was dispatched to the 600 block of Hancock St. to respond to reports of gunfire between two groups of people. A vehicle that one of the groups left the scene in was spotted traveling north on New York State Route 13 near the Cayuga Heights exit. A Tompkins County Sheriff’s Office vehicle spotted the suspect’s vehicle and the pursuit ended when the vehicle left the road and ended up in the front yard of a residential home near the parkway and Klinewoods Road in the Village of Cayuga Heights.
After the vehicle stopped, one suspect was apprehended and two others fled on foot, the release stated. The Tompkins County Sheriff’s Office, Ithaca Police Department, Cayuga Heights Police Department, Cornell University Police and the New York State Police all responded. After a perimeter was set, members of the Tompkins County Sheriff’s Office apprehended another suspect without incident.
The release stated that the third suspect is a 6’0–6’1 tall Black male with dreadlocks extending past the shoulders, medium build and wearing a faded multi-colored shirt. He was seen fleeing the scene with a handgun in his waistband and should be considered armed and dangerous.
Law enforcement officers found a handgun in the area the third suspect had fled from, as well as shell casings from the scene of the shots–fired incident in the 600 block of Hancock St.
The first suspect has been identified as 22-year-old Trimard Chris Campbell from Utica, New York and the second suspect has been identified as 22-year-old Ramello Quayshawn Jackson from Ithaca. Charges are being drafted for both suspects.
In a release sent at 8:45 a.m. Nov. 10, Osborne released what charges both defendants are receiving. Jackson was charged with Criminal Possession of a Weapon 3rd, which is a Class D Felony; Obstructing Governmental Administration 2nd, which is a Class A Misdemeanor; and Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance 7th, which is a Class A Misdemeanor. Campbell was also charged with Criminal Possession of a Weapon 3rd and Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance 7th. He was also charged with Unlawfully Fleeing a Police Officer in a Motor Vehicle 3rd, which is a Class A Misdemeanor.
Both were arraigned and remanded to the Tompkins County Jail in lieu of a $4,000 and $8,000 cash or bond bail respectively.
At 2:09 p.m. Nov. 9, Cornell University issued a shelter-in-place order for its North Campus because local police were pursuing a man with a gun in Cayuga Heights. This alert came just two days after a bomb threat shut down Cornell’s central campus for five hours.
Local schools — Ithaca High School, Boynton Middle School and Cayuga Heights Elementary School — were also placed under shelter-in-place orders. Some Ithaca High School students received anonymous phone calls the night of Nov. 8 from someone threatening to “shoot up” the school. Police determined that the threat was not credible. The orders were eventually lifted around 3:30 p.m. At 4:22 p.m., Cornell canceled all evening events on North Campus and the shelter-in-place order was eventually lifted at 7:13 p.m.
During the shelter-in-place in Cayuga Heights, the Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit (TCAT) announced that it would not be serving certain stops along Triphammer Road between Jessup Road and Spruce Lane. After 5 p.m. the TCAT resumed operation of Cornell Campus Routes 81 and 82 and Routes 30, 32, and 31–41.
Residents are encouraged to provide any information they may have to law enforcement agencies. Potential witnesses of the third suspect should contact either the Tompkins County Sheriff’s Office or the Cayuga Heights Police Department. Witnesses to the shots fired incident on Hancock St. should contact the Ithaca Police Department.
