Newburgh police boost patrols after shooting near Mullins apartments

Newburgh police stepped up their visible presence around the Mullins apartments after gunfire erupted just after midnight on June 30, bringing in light towers and foot patrols as investigators worked the scene. The City of Newburgh Police Department’s Non-Fatal Shooting Task Force is handling the case, and officers recovered three spent shell casings.

The shooting was first picked up by ShotSpotter, giving police a fast alert to the gunfire near the apartment complex. No suspect or victim has been identified in connection with the incident, and police have not announced an arrest. Sgt. Jodice is asking anyone with information to come forward and can accept tips from people who want to remain anonymous.

The response around Mullins goes beyond the single shooting. The added lighting is meant to keep the area visible overnight, while the foot patrols increase the department’s day-to-day presence around the complex and nearby streets. For police, that kind of deployment is meant to do two things at once: make it harder for gunfire or retaliation to unfold unnoticed, and show residents that the area is being watched closely after dark.

The Mullins apartments sit inside a larger public-housing setting that already functions as a civic hub in the city. The Newburgh Housing Authority holds its monthly meetings there on the fourth Tuesday at 6 p.m. in either the Mullins Courtyard Apartments or the Fogarty Apartments, and the Mullins Community Center was listed as the site for a Housing Authority meeting on May 26. That makes the complex more than just another apartment block; it is a place where residents, housing officials and city agencies regularly cross paths.

The patrol surge also comes against a backdrop of repeated gunfire investigations across Newburgh. Police investigated a July 1 shooting at 57 Mullins Lane with no reported injuries or arrests, a June 28 shooting near Liberty Street and East Parmenter Street that left at least one person injured, and a May 28 daytime shooting near Broadway and Oak Street that involved at least 15 rounds. On April 4, officers recovered shell casings after shots were fired near Third Street and City Terrace, and three Newburgh residents were later arrested in connection with two April shootings.

Brandon Rola is the city’s police chief, and the department’s current tactic around Mullins suggests a mix of immediate investigation and sustained visibility. The light towers, foot patrols and task-force response are aimed at keeping the apartment complex from settling back into the same pattern of late-night gunfire that has kept investigators busy all spring.