Makeshift memorial erected along Wappingers Falls bridge following death of 17-year-old boy during police-involved shooting
Residents mourned the 17-year-old at the memorial near East Main and Market streets.
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A memorial of flowers lined the ledge along the Wappingers Falls Creek Bridge in Wappingers Falls on Sunday after a 17-year-old boy died during police-involved shooting.
Residents mourned the 17-year-old at the memorial near East Main and Market streets.
Police said the shooting happened Saturday around 1:30 a.m. after officers responded to a report of a distressed person on the bridge.
According to police, the teen was shot and killed after he allegedly lunged at officers with a knife.
The teen's identity still had not yet been released as of Sunday night.
Motorists who passed the teen shortly before the deadly encounter said they have been struggling to process what happened.
"He was sitting on the ledge right here, and he was just kind of like sitting, like looking down...I didn't know if something was wrong or if he just wanted to be by himself," said Nikki Scotto, of Staten Island.
"I think all of us...there were four of us in the car...We all wish we would've said something," added Alex Colon, of Wappingers Falls.
Jordan Habersham said the young man was remembered during Saturday's graduation ceremony at Roy C. Ketcham High School in Wappingers Falls.
"Our principal announced that he'd passed away earlier that morning, and he held a moment of silence for him," Habersham said.
Others also stopped by the memorial to pay their respects, including one young girl who described the teen as one of her closest friends.
"He was my friend. I knew him for years. It's so bad what happened," she said. "He was a kind person and he had so many friends."
The New York State Attorney General's Office is leading the investigation into the incident, as required in cases that involved the death of a person during an encounter with law enforcement.
