Updated 8:33 p.m.
Police arrested a local man for his alleged involvement in a shooting Friday afternoon, and reportedly found the gun involved in the shooting.
The Cortland Police Department arrested Tyshawn G. Pittman for his alleged involvement in a shooting inside 109 Main St. that left one woman with what appeared to be non-life threatening injuries. Pittman was found hiding inside an apartment near the scene of the shooting, police said.
City police, state troopers and Cortland County sheriff's officers completed a search of the building where the woman was injured earlier that evening, but did not find the suspect, Cortland Deputy Chief David Gurerra said.
"We've searched the building and he was not in that building," Guererra said.
"The public is not at risk," Chief Paul Sandy emphasized as he stood earlier in the day outside the building at 107-109 Main St.
The incident occurred about 1 p.m. and shortly afterward a woman was assisted out of the building from an entrance along Port Watson Street. She was placed on gurney and taken to a TLC Emergency Medical Services ambulance waiting in the city parking lot on the north side of Port Watson Street.
Police were awaiting confirmation from a physician that the woman had received a gunshot wound, Sandy said.
"We have no description of a weapon," he said at the time.
Just before 3:30, police in riot gear and carrying assault weapons entered the building from its Port Watson Street entrance, and much of downtown Cortland in a one-block radius was cordoned off.
"We are pursuing leads, and at this time we are looking to locate Tyshawn Pittman as a person of interest regarding this investigation," police said in a Facebook post about 4 p.m. "Based on information provided to police, it is possible Pittman is contained but it is uncertain at this time. It is not believed he is a threat to the public."
"We have the area blocked off at this time and we are asking that people avoid the area," the post continued. "If you are in the area please shelter in place until further notice."
"The victim and alleged assailant are familiar with each other," the chief said.
Pittman has had several encounters with the law over the years. He was sentenced in 2004 to seven to 10 years years in prison for his role in an assault in 2003 that left a man without part of his ear. He was convicted of a parole violation in 2015, and was charged in 2019 in connection with a burglary in which he was accused of holding down a 41-year-old woman and not letting her use her cell phone.
Police remained at the scene past 6 p.m. Port Watson Street between Church and Main streets was closed off, as was Main street south of Court Street and Tompkins Street between Main Street and Prospect Terrace. Access to the block from other streets was also limited.
