A New York town official is facing a slew of charges after allegedly shooting a DoorDash delivery driver who was lost and seeking directions in the town of Chester last week, according to police.
The DoorDash driver sustained serious, nonfatal injuries, New York State Police said in a statement released on Sunday. As of Tuesday, the victim remained hospitalized following surgery, CNN affiliate WABC reported.
This incident marks the latest in a series of cases in the US where individuals have been shot after making seemingly innocent mistakes, such as ringing the wrong doorbell or pulling into the wrong driveway.
According to New York police, the driver had been attempting to deliver food to a residence in the Valerie Drive neighborhood of Chester last Friday. Chester is situated approximately 50 miles north of Manhattan.
The driver, whose identity has not been released by police, had difficulty locating the precise address and approached several homes to ask for directions before arriving at the residence of John Reilly III, the town’s highway superintendent, police stated.
Reilly then allegedly instructed the driver to leave his property before firing multiple rounds at the victim as he tried to drive away in his vehicle, according to police reports. The driver was shot once in the back, resulting in “serious physical injuries,” police said.
DoorDash informed CNN in a statement that the driver was provided with the “correct consumer address” within the Dasher app but mistakenly went to the wrong house. The delivery was scheduled for approximately 10 p.m. on Friday and was in “a rural location,” the company noted.
“No one should ever fear for their safety just for trying to make deliveries in their neighborhood,” DoorDash said in its statement. “We’re devastated by this senseless act of violence, and we’re praying for a full and speedy recovery. We’ll continue to work closely with law enforcement as they investigate this tragic incident.”
A relative of the victim told WABC that the driver “thought his life was over.” The relative recounted that the driver was so frightened that he initially stopped at a gas station after the shooting before driving dozens of miles to his home in Middletown.
“Yes, the situation makes us angry, but we’re just very grateful that he’s alive, and we want this guy to get the punishment he deserves because he tried to kill him,” the relative told WABC.
Reilly, who holds a federal firearms license, has been charged with assault in the first degree, criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, and criminal possession of a firearm, according to police.
A preliminary hearing for Reilly is scheduled for May 9 in the Town of Chester Court.
CNN has reached out to New York State Police and Chester Police for further details regarding the incident.
Other similar cases involving individuals being shot after approaching a home for innocent reasons have led to criminal convictions.
Last year, a 66-year-old man was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for fatally shooting a woman in a car that mistakenly drove up his driveway in rural New York.
Homeowner Kevin Monahan claimed he was protecting his wife and was concerned about past criminal activity in his neighborhood when he lost his balance on some nails and fired the fatal shot at Kaylin Gillis, 20, from his porch in April 2023.
Gillis’s death occurred just days after a Black teenager in Kansas City was shot twice by a White homeowner after going to the wrong address to pick up his siblings.
The now-deceased shooter, Andrew Lester, pleaded guilty to a charge of second-degree assault in the shooting of then-16-year-old Ralph Yarl.
