Neiswanger said they believe the shooting was not drug- or gang-related but would not elaborate on the suspected motive.
Holyoke Police Chief James M. Neiswanger talks about the shootings earlier in the week at a Saturday press conference at the police headquarters in Holyoke. Those who worked on the case from left are Detective Steven Rogers, Detective Jennifer Sattler, Detective Jorge Monsalve, Detective David Usher, Lt. Matthew Moriarty and Sgt. Joseph Garcia. (Staff photo by David Roback) HOLYOKE - Police officials said Reynaldo Diaz was releasing his 5-year-old son from an embrace when bullets ripped through Diaz and hit the child's knee in broad daylight in a troubled downtown neighborhood last week.
Neither was fatally wounded.
Police Chief James Neiswanger said investigators believe the alleged shooter, 21-year-old Brian Marrero of 32 North Summer St., Apt 2C, targeted Diaz but not the boy. He said they believe the shooting was not drug- or gang-related but would not elaborate on the suspected motive.
Marrero was arrested Friday night. Neiswanger said he is well-known to police but declined to provide details.
"The suspect has a history of violence and is someone who should not be on the streets of Holyoke," he said.
Neiswanger lauded his detective bureau during a press conference at headquarters on Saturday, noting that Diaz and several witnesses have been cooperative despite a culture that has often pitted residents against police.
"That's the end goal, is to get a good relationship with the community," he said.
Diaz was treated and released from the hospital while the child remains hospitalized, according to police.
Marerro will be arraigned on Monday in Holyoke District Court on charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, and firing a gun within 500 feet of a dwelling.
Neiswanger said investigators believe the boy was hit when a bullet passed through his father. He added that the child's mother was nearby when the shooting occurred.
It was the first shooting in Holyoke in 2013, police said.
"In 2012 we had six people shot; and in 2011, we had a dozen. We don't want any shooting, so we're heading in the direction that we want to go. I'm very proud of my officers on this," Neiswanger said.
The shooting occurred Wednesday at about 12:30 p.m. near or at the 93-unit Toepfert complex managed by the Holyoke Housing Authority at Lyman and North Summer streets.
It erupted in the Flats neighborhood in south Holyoke, which some residents said has gunshots as a frequent soundtrack. Just following the shooting, witness Kevin Rodriguez, 24, told a reporter for The Republican that he heard four, equally spaced gunshots, like someone was aiming. A green, four-door Honda Civic raced away and police arrived fast, Rodriguez said.
Neiswanger said police believe four or five shots were fired and investigators found several shell casings at the scene.
Rodriguez added that the sound of gunshots on the streets in the Flats is routine.
"You never know when something could happen to you," Rodriguez said.