Four injured in drive-by shooting on I-293 in Manchester
Jul. 16—Four people were shot when someone opened fire on a van on Interstate-293 early Friday morning, according to police.
Police are looking for a white sedan, possibly a Dodge, in connection with the incident.
And in a second incident that may be related, a Manchester police officer was injured when a suspicious vehicle he was pursuing drove into his cruiser.
"We cannot have this behavior in this city," Manchester Police Chief Allen Aldenberg said at a Friday morning news conference.
According to police, the drive-by shooting happened around 1:45 a.m. near the Exit 2 off-ramp of I-293. The occupants of the van had left a performance at Jewel Nightclub in Manchester a short time earlier.
Aldenberg said the 911 caller who reported the shooting "made reference to Jewel Nightclub."
Shortly after police got the 911 call, a vehicle arrived at Elliot Hospital and dropped off four individuals who had suffered gunshot wounds, police said. None of the injuries appeared life-threatening, they said.
Aldenberg asked anyone who was at the nightclub that night, and "anybody that may have been on 293 at the time of this incident and saw something that didn't look right," to contact police.
Detectives are investigating whether something happened at the nightclub that led to the drive-by shooting, the chief said.
And he said investigators are looking into whether the second incident that injured a police officer is related to the shooting.
According to police, Officer Alexandros Hondros had gone to the area of Jewel Nightclub after reports of the highway shooting, and heard a gunshot.
He saw a blue Audi speeding away and pursued the vehicle. The driver stopped but then drove away again before crashing on a dead-end street, where the driver backed into a parked pickup truck and then drove into Hondros' cruiser.
Chief Aldenberg said both the driver and a passenger tried to flee but officers were able to capture them.
The two men, identified as Dy'vee Spencer and Jose Jusino, both 21 and both from Springfield, Mass., were arrested. Spencer, who police said was driving, was charged with (felony) reckless conduct with a deadly weapon, conduct after an accident, resisting arrest and disobeying a police officer. Jusino was charged with resisting arrest.
Officer Hondros was taken to the hospital for treatment of minor injuries and later released, police said.
The officers involved in the pursuit "showed significant restraint and professionalism in taking those two individuals into custody," Aldenberg said.
Asked if police are concerned about possible retaliation after the drive-by shooting, Aldenberg said his department might add some "extra presence" Friday night at the nightclub, in addition to the extra street patrols that are typical for a weekend night.
The chief said there appears to be no immediate threat to the public.
Col. Nathan Noyes, commander of the state police, joined Aldenberg at the news conference, a sign of how seriously state and city police are taking the incident. State police are investigating the shooting, since that agency patrols the interstate.
"We will use any and all resources available to ensure that a thorough investigation is completed ... and that any individual involved is held accountable," Noyes said.
Both men also praised the cooperation between their two agencies.
Rapper Dusty Locane performed Thursday night at Jewel Nightclub. Kevin Grossi, the singer's publicist, said in an email to the Union Leader: "The van was not Dusty's and he and his team were not involved in the incident last night. He and his team are safe and sound."
