A shooting late Sunday afternoon on a dark street in Johnson City killed a Binghamton man just blocks from the emergency room at Wilson Regional Medical Center.


Eric Dantzler, 21, of Evans Street, was shot around 5:25 p.m. while he and an unidentified passenger were stopped in a late-model SUV on Corliss Avenue between Willow and Broad streets, according to Johnson City police Chief Joseph Zikuski.

After the shooting, Dantzler managed to drive a block west on Corliss Avenue where he turned south onto Arch Street and knocked down several parking meters before the vehicle stopped on the west side of the road near Baldwin Street.

Dantzler was pronounced dead at the nearby hospital's emergency room; the passenger was not injured, said Zikuski. The location of the gunshot wound that killed Dantzler was not released by police.

In the chilly darkness Sunday night, police looked for casings on Corliss Avenue and blocked off Arch Street while investigating the crash scene where Dantzler was removed from the vehicle and transported to Wilson by the Union Volunteer Emergency Squad.

Johnson City Police, Broome County Sheriff's deputies, Binghamton Police and State Police were at the scene.

Zikuski said investigators think the victim and the shooter knew each other. The two men were apparently involved in a verbal dispute when the shooter pulled a handgun and shot Dantzler.

The alleged shooter fled on foot. A police scanner bulletin issued after the shooting described the shooter as a black male with a blue or black hat and a gray coat who was last seen on foot fleeing the area in an unknown direction.

The area of the shooting is a former industrial area south of Main Street featuring vacant lots and an abandoned factory building.

Other details about the weapon, possible motive and the suspect's identity were not immediately available Sunday night.