Albany man wounded in downtown shooting

ALBANY — Albany Police continue to investigate an incident in downtown Albany early Sunday morning in which an Albany man was shot twice by an unknown gunman.

Alexander Denevious Harris, 23, told officers of the Albany Police Department that around 1:35 a.m. on Sunday he and a friend, Marquise Thomas, were walking near the northeast corner of the Albany Welcome Center at 112 N. Front St., when they heard a series of gunshots.

Harris stated that he then ran toward a restaurant at the corner of West Broad Avenue and Front Street, where he noticed he’d been shot in the leg and his lower back.

Nazaret Sanchez said that when he and two other officers responded to the restaurant around 1:44 a.m., they found Harris to be conscious but initially unresponsive to questioning. Harris was transported to Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital, Sanchez said, where on Monday he was listed in “good” condition.

A witness near the Welcome Center told police she heard “around 13 shots,” and then two more after a pause. The witness also stated that following the gunshots she noticed a black male in an orange T-shirt running toward the restaurant and a black truck with extended cab headed south on Front Street.

According to the witness, the truck turned west on Broad Avenue and sped from the scene.

The same witness stated there were several black male occupants in the cab and bed of the truck, and that she heard one of the occupants say “let’s go before the police come.”

In a later interview at Phoebe Putney Hospital, Harris told Sanchez he never saw the gunman and had no idea why anyone would want to shoot him.

Anyone with information on the attack is asked to notify the Albany Police Department at (229) 431- 2100 or Crime Stoppers at (229) 436-TIPS (8477) to remain anonymous.