Crime & Safety

Stop & Shop Manager Killed In Shooting Was Father Of 7

Ray Wishropp​​ was an "amazing dad," his cousin says.

West Hempstead Stop & Shop manager Ray Wishropp, of Valley Stream, was shot and killed by employee Gabriel Dewitt Wilson on Tuesday, police said. Two others were injured in the shooting.
West Hempstead Stop & Shop manager Ray Wishropp, of Valley Stream, was shot and killed by employee Gabriel Dewitt Wilson on Tuesday, police said. Two others were injured in the shooting. (Google Maps)

VALLEY STREAM, NY — The West Hempstead Stop & Shop store manager killed in a shooting Tuesday was a father of seven from Valley Stream, according to reports.

"He was an amazing, an amazing dad," Fiona Morgan, a cousin of 49-year-old Ray Wishropp, told ABC 7. "He was a strong pillar of our family."

Wishropp and two other people at the store on Cherry Valley Road were shot by employee Gabriel Dewitt Wilson around 11:19 a.m. Tuesday, police said.

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After a four-hour manhunt, police caught Wilson Tuesday afternoon in Hempstead. He faces a count of second-degree murder and four counts of attempted murder. Wilson was arraigned Wednesday and if convicted, he could face 25 years to life in prison.

Before the violence, Wilson was seeking a transfer to the Stop & Shop store in Hempstead, Nassau police Det. Lt. Steven Fitzpatrick said. "Forty minutes later, he returned to the building and you know the rest. He walked right up to the offices, opened fire on five individuals."

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Two other people were wounded and expected to recover.

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