Man walking dog fatally shot by stray bullet in Manhattan
HAMILTON HEIGHTS, Manhattan (WABC) -- An innocent bystander was shot and killed while he walked his dog in Upper Manhattan early Monday.
It happened near Amsterdam Avenue and West 146th Street in Hamilton Heights.
Forty-year-old Winston McKay had just finished celebrating the 18-year anniversary of meeting his husband and had taken their dog Milton for a walk after they returned from the park across the street from their apartment.
Husband Terry Solomon said McKay came upon two men arguing on the street when gunfire rang out, and he was inadvertently struck by a stray bullet. The couple has been married for about two years.
"I got the kiss, and next thing I know, I'm getting calls my husband was shot," Solomon said. "I'm questioning myself, like, Lord, why couldn't it have been me. I will never fall in love that way again."
Solomon said McKay and generous and kept to himself, and he wants the gunman to turn himself in to police.
"Guns are not the way for anything," Solomon said. "Give me peace. My husband believed in redemption, so I would even speak at your impact hearing and let the judge know, 'My husband wouldn't want you to throw the book at them. My husband would want you to show them mercy.' Because that's the kind of person he was. He was a merciful person, and he would never want somebody to be locked behind bars for the rest of their lives for something like that."
McKay worked as a librarian and was taking college classes at Mildred Elley College in Lower Manhattan. He was shot in the right leg, but the bullet struck his femoral artery.
He was rushed to the hospital, where he later died. Police say he was not the intended target.
"When I got there, the ambulance was just pulling away," Solomon said.
He said Milton now sleeps by their bed, waiting for Winston to come home.
Police are still searching for the gunman, but they say they have surveillance video of the actual shooting.
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
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