By MES Dispatch staff
The Briefing
• Drone and body camera footage was released showing a New York State Police trooper fatally shooting an armed homicide suspect after a brief clash in Diana, N.Y., authorities said.
• The suspect, identified as Victor L. Craighead, is linked to the alleged deaths of two neighbors whose bodies were found burned in nearby vehicles.
• The videos capture the suspect emerging armed from his home and firing at an armored NYSP vehicle before being shot by a trooper.
• The entire encounter lasted about 25 seconds from the suspect’s exit to the shots fired.
• The New York State Attorney General’s Office and State Police continue to investigate the incident.
DIANA, NY — Officials released drone and body-worn camera footage showing a New York State Police trooper fatally shooting a suspect in Lewis County after a rapid, armed confrontation outside the man’s residence, authorities said.
The videos, released Wednesday by the New York State Attorney General’s Office, capture the suspect, identified as 47-year-old Victor L. Craighead, emerging from his home shortly before 2:18 a.m. on March 28 with a long gun and approaching an NYSP armored vehicle. Craighead is considered a suspect in the deaths of two neighbors whose burned bodies were found in separate vehicles nearby.
Drone footage shows Craighead walking toward the armored vehicle and firing at it, damaging the driver’s side window. Body-camera audio from Trooper Timothy Dovi inside the vehicle includes shouts warning colleagues as the suspect moved around the vehicle before shots were fired.
Craighead also attempted to break the armored car’s window with his firearm and momentarily dropped his weapon prior to being struck by gunfire from within the vehicle. The encounter, which lasted roughly 25 seconds from the suspect’s exit to the shots fired, culminated in Craighead’s death at the scene despite troopers rendering aid.
State Police and the Attorney General’s Office said they are continuing their investigation into the circumstances of the shooting, including the sequence of events leading to the suspect’s armed engagement with troopers.