SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – Westcott Street became the scene of an active standoff between police and a man armed with a gun on Sunday night, according to Syracuse University’s Department of Public Safety. The man barricaded himself inside Pop Shop — a convenience store located at 507 Westcott St. — before being apprehended by Syracuse Police.
The store’s owner, Ali Ismail, said he was not there when it happened, but received a call from the employee who was — his brother Mohammed.
“I came and I was talking to my brother. I called him through his FaceTime,” Ismail said. “He was in the store with the guy, and I see the cameras, everything was ok, but the guy — he hide the gun under the chips shelf.”
Pop Shop, which is located within a one-minute walk of several other businesses on Westcott Street, has never had to deal with a situation like this before.
“[It’s] never happened, that before, in here,” Ismail said. “This area is a quiet area and is a nice area”
Nevertheless, in the aftermath of Sunday night, Ismail is looking for more security and help to keep crime away from his store.
“If they put him in jail, they’re gonna save a lot of troubles,” Ismail said. “But when they let him out they’re gonna do more troubles. This guy, he was walking with a gun like he was walking with a pack of cigarettes in his pocket.”
If those further troubles Ismail is alluding to become a reality, increased crime on Westcott may become something that those who live nearby — like Dan Deshon — have to deal with.
“[Increased crime] doesn’t make me any more anxious,” Deshon said. “I have no more trepidation about going anywhere because of it.”
As of Tuesday morning at 8, Syracuse Police has not yet released the identity of the man who entered Pop Shop with a gun on Sunday night.
