ID Released For Store Manager Shot, Killed By Worker At NY Stop & Shop

The suspect, Gabriel DeWitt Wilson, age 31, of Hempstead, pleaded not guilty on Wednesday, April 21, just 24 hours after the incident took place at the Stop & Shop in West Hempstead on Tuesday, April 20.

Wilson was apprehended within four hours of the shooting following a massive manhunt that included more than 150 officers, the FBI, the ATF, and the NYPD, said Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder.

Before opening fire at the store, killing 49-year-old manager Ray Wishropp, a resident of Valley Stream, and wounding two others store employees - a 50-year-old man and a 26-year-old woman - Wilson had visited the store around 10 a.m. to ask for a transfer, said Ryder. 

There was some kind of discipline issue, which has not been revealed, Ryder added.

Wilson left the store after the meeting, talking with several people on his way out. He then returned around 11:19 a.m., went to the second floor of the grocery store, walked into Wishropp's office, pulled out a .380 caliber handgun, and fired seven rounds, Ryder said. 

Ryder, along with other government leaders praised the work of police and keeping the public safe during the incident.

Wison was captured after numerous tips from the public came into police regarding his whereabouts and where he lived, police said.

That led police to an apartment building in Hempstead where Wilson was located. When he attempted to run from the police, Ryder said Wilson was "like a mouse in a trap," with Nassau County and Hempstead police blocking his every path of escape.

He was captured without incident and booked at the Nassau County Jail where he is being held without bail.

Nassau County Executive Laura Curran said she didn't think she would hear the words everyone in law enforcement and government dreads -- active shooter -- but on Tuesday it was "real life," she said, and "really fine police work" that brought it to such a safe and quick end. 

Ryder said Wilson has a long arrest history dating back as far as 2011 that included another shooting in 2014. He had also been held twice for mental health evaluations. 

He is scheduled to appear in court again in May. If convicted on the one murder charge and four attempted murder charges he faces 25 years to life in prison.

Stop & Shop President Gordon Reid said the store would be closed until further notice.

Click here to follow Daily Voice Middletown-Wallkill and receive free news updates.