One person is dead and two others hospitalized following a multiple shooting in the Town of Wheatfield Friday afternoon.
Investigators say a Niagara County Sheriff's Deputy responded to a 911 hangup call early Friday afternoon at 6871 Errick Road, located next to Errick Road Elementary School.
"The deputy got there, a gentleman came to the door," said Sheriff James Voutour. "The gentlemen quickly shut the door and ran back into the house. The deputy then didn't like the situation and called for backup."
Voutour said the man then came out from the back of the house, while the deputy came up the side of the house. After a brief verbal exchange, Voutour said, the man pulled a gun and a brief exchange of shots followed. After firing several rounds, the man ran back inside the house.
Meanwhile. say investigators, a woman inside the house was in touch with 911 on a second call and revealed that she and another individual, whom she identified as her husband, were both shot.
By then, several more law enforcers had arrived on the scene. Sheriff Voutour told reporters at that point they decided to go inside for a tactical entry.
"Upon that tactical entry of just a couple officers at the scene, we found one deceased male in the house and two wounded, a male and a female," he said."
As of Friday evening, names had not yet been released, nor did investigators confirm whether the deceased was the son of the two injured victims. The wounded were taken to Erie County Medical Center with "serious" wounds.
The deputy who first arrived on the scene, Voutour says, was shot during the gunfire exchange but was saved by his protective vest. Said to be a 10-year veteran of the force with strong ties to the school next door, that deputy was treated and released Friday. While Voutour did not release his name at the scene he stated the deputy is a husband and father of two.
"In the middle of all this, he radioed out - and I heard it myself - please lock down the school," said Voutour.
None of the kids inside the school were harmed. It did create anxious moments for parents including Jennifer Stoddard, whose family lives across the street. Her two sons attend the school, which was in session when she heard the gunshots and saw a running deputy in the distance while looking out her window.
"I was scared to death and as soon as I heard the school go into lockdown, I pretty much sat on my steps with my door locked and cried, knowing that I couldn't go over and pick up my boys and make sure that they were safe with me" she said. "The school definitely handled it the way that they're supposed to. They've practiced it multiple times, so I knew that my kids were going to be safe with their teachers and the staff at the school."