Shock, sadness and anger in Tonawanda, NY - Stop The Violence

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Two murders in less than 24 hours

TONAWANDA, N.Y. There is shock, sadness and anger in the Town of Tonawanda after two murders in less than 24 hours. In both cases, the victims were young men shot to death in relatively quiet neighborhoods. But investigators say the similarities stop there.

Police detectives in the Town on Tonawanda are trying to track down at least two killers.

Gilbert Santiago said, "He's never hurt nobody. He's never done anything to anybody, ever."

Santiago is mourning the loss of his older brother. 25-year-old Michael Santiago was gunned down late Saturday night in the Sheridan-Parkside neighborhood.

Police aren't ruling out anything at this point.

Town of Tonawanda Police Lieutenant Nick Bado said, "They're getting different stories, different explanations, so they have to sort through that, find out what's credible, filter out what's not."

Gilbert claims the killers were after him, and his brother became an innocent victim.

Family members say Michael was a good kid and didn't brother anyone.

Jason Coons said, "And the only kid out here, never says a bad thing to anybody gets a bullet in the back of the head for nothing."

Tensions are high in the neighborhood and police are keeping patrols in the area. Sunday, police showed up with their weapons drawn.

Lt. Bado said, "We want to remain a strong presence there until the tension has died down. So really we're just going to be gauging it from day to day from hour to hour."

The other victim is 32-year-old Thomas Newton. He was gunned down Friday night outside a home on Henderson Avenue. Police say he had a history of run-ins with the law.

Lt. Bado said, "There are all kinds of details we're combing over to determine what shot when and where it was intended to go, and we're breaking it down piece by piece."

According to the police report, Newton's girlfriend says he recently changed his cell phone number because he was being harassed by his ex-wife's boyfriend. But so far no arrests have been made.

Anyone with information on either murder is asked to call Town of Tonawanda Police at 879-6613.

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