Man wounded in Cohoes shooting

Suspect charged, victim released from hospital

COHOES, N.Y. » A man faces attempted murder charges after a Sunday afternoon shooting on Main Street.

City police responded about 3:15 p.m.to a reported shooting on Main Street and found a 19-yearold victim at the scene, according to Assistant Police Chief Tom Ross.

“There was one victim with a single gunshot wound, and he was transported to Albany Medical Center,” said Ross. “The suspect was found and brought to our police headquarters and was interviewed by detectives.”

Ross confirmed police arrested Christopher Cowan, 24, no address given, just a few hours after the incident, after Cowan admitted he was the shooter during that police interview. Cowan was charged with attempted murder and criminal possession of a weapon, Ross said. Cowan was arraigned Monday morning in City Court and sent to the Albany County jail without bail.

Ross said the victim — who is not being identified by police — was released from the hospital Sunday night.

Police believe Cowan knew the victim and that the shooting was not a random act. While police did not release a motive for the shooting, other media reports said the dispute was over a woman.

City officials and police said an incident like this has been rare for the city in recent years.

“Cohoes is one of the safest communities, and this does not represent the city,” Mayor Shawn Morse said Monday.

“It doesn’t represent Cohoes Proud. This is an isolated case, and, from my point of view, it was a stupid mistake by two young people who got caught up in something.”