A Town Official Shot a DoorDash Driver In the Back Who Got Lost And Needed Directions. Now Authorities Are Investigating Whether Shooting Qualifies as a Hate Crime

A town official in New York state was arrested for shooting a DoorDash driver who had come to his home to ask for directions after getting lost in the neighborhood while trying to make a delivery.

John J. Reilly III, 48, now faces felony charges for the shooting, including first-degree assault, criminal possession of a firearm, and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

In a news release, New York State Police said the shooting happened on May 2 at 9:50 p.m. at Reilly’s home in the Town of Chester.

The DoorDash driver was driving around Reilly’s neighborhood that night, trying to locate a home where he was supposed to make a delivery. After losing GPS capabilities, he stopped at several homes to ask residents for directions.

In doorbell surveillance video obtained by News12 Westchester, the victim is seen standing on the porch of one home saying, “I have DoorDash. My phone is broken. I need some help.”

The last home he stopped at was Reilly’s.

Police say Reilly only told the DoorDash driver to get off his property “before firing multiple shots at the victim as he attempted to leave in his vehicle, striking the victim once in the back, causing serious physical injuries.”

An Orange County spokesperson told The New York Times that the victim required emergency surgery for injuries that are “serious, but not at this time expected to be fatal.”

Authorities have not released the victim’s identity at this time. Family members did not identify him either, but told local news outlets that the 24-year-old had recently moved to a neighboring town from West Africa. He speaks French and was studying English at SUNY Orange in Middletown. He had been working for DoorDash for a month.

“He did stop at our house,” one homeowner told News12. “I thought maybe my wife ordered DoorDash. He didn’t seem to speak good English.”

The victim’s family said that his phone had died before the shooting, so he drove himself to a gas station to charge it and call police. A store clerk called police, but the victim left and drove himself home, where first responders met him. From there, they rushed him to the hospital.

Town Supervisor Brandon Holdridge released a statement on Facebook saying, “We are deeply troubled by what has been reported so far,” Holdridge said. “We hope the person who was injured in the incident makes a full and healthy recovery.”

Holdridge added that local authorities have recused themselves from the shooting investigation since Reilly is a town official, and that state police will look into the incident.

Reilly was elected Highway Superintendent for the Town of Chester in 2021. Police say he is also a federally licensed firearms dealer, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is involved in the ongoing investigation.

Reilly was booked into the Orange County Jail, and his bail was set at $250,000. He’ll be back in court on May 9.

State police say the DoorDash driver was in the wrong place at the wrong time and are investigating whether the shooting was a hate crime, according to News12 Westchester.

“There’s nothing to indicate that the victim had any nefarious intentions, he was just out there doing his job trying to make a food delivery,” New York State Police Capt. Joseph Kolek told WABC.

In a statement about the shooting, a DoorDash spokesperson said, “No one should ever fear for their safety just for trying to make deliveries in their neighborhood. We’re devastated by this senseless act of violence.”

This incident was similar to a 2023 shooting in Hebron, New York, where a 66-year-old homeowner opened fire and fatally shot a 20-year-old passenger in a car that had mistakenly entered his driveway. The group she was with had been trying to locate a friend’s home in the area. The shooter was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison last year for second-degree murder.

Another similar case that drew national attention was the shooting of Ralph Yarl, a Black teenager who was shot twice by 86-year-old Andrew Lester after he went to the wrong home while trying to pick up his younger siblings in Kansas City. Yarl survived his injuries. Lester pleaded guilty to second-degree assault earlier this year, but died just a few days before his sentencing.