71-year-old man charged in shooting on Wall Street in Huntington, police say
An early morning shooting on Wall Street in Huntington is being investigated by Suffolk County police detectives. Credit: Rick Kopstein
A 71-year-old man accused of shooting a 21-year-old Fort Salonga man who was chasing him early Saturday morning in Huntington has been arrested on an assault charge, police said.
Huntington resident John Rech was charged with second-degree assault after allegedly shooting the Fort Salonga man on Wall Street around 5 a.m. on Saturday, Suffolk County police said on Monday. The man was taken to a hospital, where he was being treated for serious but non-fatal injuries.
Rech had a legitimate firearm license for the gun used in the shooting, police said in a news release.
On Sunday, Rech pleaded not guilty at an arraignment in First District Court in Central Islip, the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office said in an email. A judge set his bail at "$25,000 cash, $50,000 bond or $250,000 partially secured bond."
Bob Macedonio, an attorney for Rech, said his client was exercising that morning when several people started to chase him.
"Mr. Rech is a licensed firearm holder. He maintains his innocence, and we are gathering all the videotape from the route where he was walking that morning," Macedonio said in a phone interview Monday. "And we believe once we have all the videotape footage, it'll show that Mr. Rech acted appropriately within the confines of the law."
Tiffany Cusaac-Smith is a general assignment reporter for Newsday. She previously worked at USA TODAY and is an alum of Howard University.
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