Wallkill man, 27, faces felony assault charge in restaurant shooting
Police said the 27-year-old suspect mistook the victim for a police officer
TOWN OF WALLKILL » A 27-year-old town of Wallkill man is being held in Pennsylvania, accused of shooting a 48-year-old Walden man whom the assailant had mistaken for a police officer, authorities said.
Authorities said the suspect, Hector Luna, 27, of the town of Wallkill, was taken into custody Thursday, April 15, at the Hampton Inn in Matamoras, Pennsylvania. Luna is accused of shooting Charles Miller, 48, while Miller ate at the You You Asian Restaurant on Route 211 in Wallkill the previous evening.
Wallkill Police Chief Robert Hertman said Luna, who shot Miller in the abdomen with a small-caliber handgun, said he thought Miller was a police officer.
“To see such a random act of violence in our town against a member of our community who was out enjoying dinner with his family — and whether he was chosen because the suspect thought he was a police officer or not — just the fact that it was a very random act of violence is very alarming,” Hertman said. “It is a thriving commercial district where this occurred. It is the heart and soul of the economic engine in this town.”
Miller remained in “very serious condition” at Garnet Medical Center in Wallkill, a trauma center, Hertman said.
Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler said targeting someone because he is thought to be a cop “is not going to be tolerated. People have to stand up. We need law enforcement. We need our police to be able to protect us.”
Luna was in the Pike County Jail in Pennsylvania awaiting extradition to New York state, where he will be charged with armed assault and criminal possession of a weapon, authorities said.