Two Holyoke police officers are being praised for their actions during a shooting outside a High Street bar Saturday morning. A man was arrested and charged with nine.
Interim Police Chief Isaias Cruz said in a statement that officers Ashley Feliciano and Giovanni Abella were monitoring the closing of a bar on High Street when it emptied into the shutter around 1:40 a.m. When the crowd was leaving the club near the intersection of High and Lyman streets. , a fight broke out between patrons. During that fight, one man pulled out a gun and shot the other man, narrowly missing him.
Officers Feliciano and Abella ran toward the shooting, and upon seeing the officers approaching, the suspect fled the scene, according to police. The two officers were able to chase the man down, get a gun and take him into custody.
The alleged shooter, Erik Santiago, was arrested on charges of attempted murder, discharging a handgun within 500 feet of a dwelling, possession of a loaded firearm without a firearm identification card ( FID), possession of a class A substance (heroin) and receiving stolen goods (gun), possession of a large capacity firearm, possession of ammunition without a firearms identification card, illegal storage of a firearm and disorderly conduct.
Santiago was ordered held on $50,000 cash bail pending an arraignment in Holyoke District Court on Monday.
Acting Chief Cruz congratulated the officers, saying, “You both avoided a tragedy and showed exceptional bravery in a dangerous situation.”