Police: Man Critically Injured in Flanders Shooting, Two Arrested

Two men were arrested following a shooting in Flanders Wednesday afternoon in which one person was critically injured, Southampton Town Police said.

At 3:08 p.m. Wednesday police received several reports of gunshots in the area of McKinley Street.

Police said a man suffered gunshot wounds while standing in front of his residence at 5 McKinley Street. Two men in a white Chrysler sedan who were observed in the area fled the scene prior to police arrival.

Southampton Town Police, New York State Police and K-9 Units, Westhampton Beach Village Police, and the Suffolk County Police Aviation Unit responded to the area.

Alert Southampton Town Police Officers stopped two male occupants in the involved vehicle near Spinney Road and State Road 24 in Flanders.

After an intensive investigation, it was determined that one of the vehicle occupants, Kwame Opoku, 32, of Mastic Beach. had engaged in a verbal altercation with the victim earlier in the day which led to the assault at McKinley Street, police said.

Southampton Town Detectives arrested Opoku for assault in the first degree, criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, criminal use of a firearm in the second degree, and reckless endangerment in the first degree. Emmanuel Coleman, 34, of Riverhead, was also arrested for assault in the first degree and on a warrant for violation of parole.

The victim, 36, was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital by the Suffolk County Police Aviation Unit where he underwent surgery and is listed in critical condition.

Opoku and Coleman were held overnight at Southampton Town Police HQ and were due to be arraigned at Southampton Justice Court in Hampton Bays Thursday morning.

Google Maps Photo: The shooting occurred outside a home at 5 McKinley Street in Flanders.