On March 1st at 1105 am, the Cheektowaga Police received a call of a man with a gun inside the 7-11 at 475 French Road. While dispatchers were speaking with a female inside the store and police were responding, the male suspect fired a shot. A female inside the business was struck.
Police arrived as the suspect was exiting the store and confronted the suspect. An officer did fire at the suspect. The suspect was taken into custody and was not injured. The female inside the store was transported to ECMC. Her condition is not known at this time.
We are at the early stages of this investigation and notifications are being made to family members of those involved. We will put further information out as soon as notifications are completed and facts of the case have been confirmed. We want to ensure the public that the suspect is in custody and there appears to be no danger to the public in the area of this scene. Detectives will be on scene processing evidence and working with the Erie County District Attorney’s Office in regards to the criminal charges.
UPDATE:
Tragically, the female victim of this incident succumbed to her injuries at ECMC. The victim is a 23 year resident of Cheektowaga and was an employee of the store.
The offender, 27 year old Travis J. Zukic of Cheektowaga was arraigned this evening on one count of Second Degree Murder in Cheektowaga Town Court by Justice James Speyer and remanded to the Erie County Holding Center. His next court appearance will be in Cheektowaga Town Court on Thursday March 5th.
The investigation into this incident remains an active investigation. Further details will be released as they develop.
FINAL UPDATE: 3/2/2020
The victim from the March 1st incident at 475 French Road is 23 year old Hannah Morse of Cheektowaga. The investigation into the incident continues. At this point, it does not appear that this incident was a robbery attempt and there does not appear to be any relation between the victim and the offender.
Asst. Chief Brian Gould.
Assistant Chief of Cheektowaga Police Dept.
(716) 686-3955
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