ALBANY – The 21-year old man who was shot to death while sitting behind the wheel of an SUV in a Stewart’s parking lot early Tuesday evening in Albany, was “gunned down like a dog,” according to an eyewitness who has lived in the Delaware Avenue neighborhood for 30 years, and says he’s never seen anything like it.

“I heard gunshots, multiple gunshots fired,” man said. “I saw people scattering. I saw a guy running across Delaware Avenue with a gun in the air, just shooting the vehicle.”

According to Albany Police Chief Eric Hawkins, 13 shots were fired during the shooting spree.

“People were panicking, jumping down, hiding under cars, and hiding behind vehicles,” the eyewitness stated. “A little kid got glazed. He ran down the street. He was screaming.”

According to Hawkins, there was a verbal altercation that took place between the victim and shooter across the street, and it quickly escalated.

“This is just another example of senseless acts of violence that erupt over some seemingly nonsensical type issues,” the chief continued. “The inability of an unwillingness to resolve conflicts in a peaceful manner and it just spirals out of control.”

Hawkins said the search for a light-skin black male had already become a massive manhunt early Tuesday evening.

“Any time a person that shoots somebody in broad daylight is out (on the streets) it’s terribly concerning,” Hawkins stated. “That’s why we’re working hard to identify this person and get this person off the streets as quickly as we can.”

For such a brutal act of violence to occur in her district is beyond unsettling for Sonia Frederick, who represents the neighborhood on the Albany Common Council.

“”There’s not enough words to describe how devastating and just unacceptable this behavior is,” she said.

to solve the crisis of gun violence, Bishop Avery Comithier, of the Elijah Missionary Church, says people need to speak up.

“People saw him,” Comithier said. “They don’t want to say anything so why are we holding community events, feeding people hotdogs and hamburgers and they won’t say anything?

By about 10:00 PM Tuesday night, roads were reopened.

Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan released this statement:

“This brazen act of violence took a persons life and placed many more in harms way. The Albany Police Department will use all resources at its disposal to find and arrest the perpetrator of this horrific crime.”