A town official in New York is facing multiple charges after allegedly shooting a DoorDash driver who was lost and asking for directions in Chester, police said.
According to New York State Police, the driver sustained serious but non-life-threatening injuries in the incident, which occurred last week. The victim underwent surgery and remained hospitalized as of Tuesday, according to CNN affiliate WABC.
The shooting is the latest in a series of incidents across the U.S. in which individuals have been shot after seemingly harmless mistakes, such as knocking on the wrong door or entering the wrong driveway.
Police say the driver was attempting to deliver food in the Valerie Drive neighborhood of Chester—located about 50 miles north of Manhattan—on Friday. After struggling to find the correct address, the driver reportedly approached several homes to ask for help.
According to police, Reilly ordered the DoorDash driver to leave his property before firing several shots at him as he tried to drive away.
The delivery was scheduled for around 10 p.m. Friday in what the company described as a “rural location.”
“No one should ever fear for their safety just for trying to make deliveries in their neighborhood,” DoorDash said in a statement.
The company called the shooting a “senseless act of violence” and said it is hoping for the driver’s full and swift recovery. DoorDash also pledged to cooperate fully with law enforcement as the investigation continues.
A family member of the DoorDash driver told WABC that the victim feared for his life during the ordeal. After the shooting, he was so shaken that he stopped at a gas station before eventually driving several miles back to his home in Middletown, the relative said.
“We’re angry about what happened, but above all, we’re thankful he’s still alive,” the relative told WABC.
John Reilly III, identified as a federally licensed firearms dealer, is now facing multiple charges, including first-degree assault, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, and criminal possession of a firearm, police said.
CNN has reached out to both New York State Police and Chester Police for additional information.
The incident in Chester is part of a troubling pattern in the U.S., where individuals have been shot after approaching homes for innocent reasons — and in some cases, those shootings have led to criminal convictions.
The shooter, Kevin Monahan, claimed he was acting to protect his wife and was worried about local crime when he lost his balance and fired from his porch, striking 20-year-old Kaylin Gillis in April 2023.
Just days earlier, a similar incident occurred in Kansas City, where a Black teenager was shot twice by a White homeowner after mistakenly going to the wrong house to pick up his siblings.