Shooting On Town Meeting Day

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Created on Wednesday, 02 March 2022 17:47

Written by Hailey Morgan

ST. JOHNSBURY-Amidst Town Meeting day yesterday, a terrible event took place outside of Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital. That left one person dead, and police looking for answers.

Tuesday morning NVRH activated a "Code Silver," as shots had been fired in parking lot A outside the building. Shortly after the Hospital had been secured, police responded to a call about a shooting that left a dead body laying in the parking lot. That of 44 year old Vincent Keithan of St. Johnsbury. Keithan was said to have died from a gunshot wound to the neck examined by the Chief Medical Examiner in Burlington.

Police say they heard of the incident at 8:50 AM, and cameras outside the hospital captured a Gray Jeep Wrangler with Connecticut license plate AX74330 that they believe had a connection to the shooting. Law enforcement located a car, that of a Jeep Wrangler outside of Vermont on Tuesday that police suspected could be part of the investigation. They sought to speak with those in the car, and Vermont State police alerted other state agencies to be on the lookout. At about 5 P.M. the New York State police located the jeep going South on the Taconic State Parkway near State Route 199 in the town of Milan in Columbia County. When NYSP tried to traffic stop the vehicle, the driver did not stop and police continued to follow behind. Troopers had to use spike strips to end the chase, but the driver and passenger ran towards the woods away from the jeep.

The NYSP located the two men a short time later, and the passenger was let go. Although, the driver was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and is still being hospitalized and is stable. The death of Keithan has been ruled a homicide, but a doctor at NVRH told News 7 that the man was not a patient nor was he a hospital employee. A Grafton NH Dispatcher said the shooting could have been set off by an argument. Police have determined that the murder was targeted. VSP and NYSP are still investigating this case, and no one is in custody at this time. If anyone has any information police are asking people to call Vermont State Police in St. Johnsbury at 802-748-3111, or you can submit an anonymous tip online at https://vsp.vermont.gov/tipsubmit.