Reactions after the shooting in Burlington

BURLINGTON, Vermont (WCAX) – Another shooting in downtown Burlington leaves one person dead.

“It was ironic because I was actually out canvassing on Thursday night and I talked to Alex. I was like, yeah, you know, I'm glad things have calmed down and we haven't had this problem in a long time. The next night I woke up and had a text from a friend saying, hey, look, we've had another gun incident,” said Christopher Haessly of the Church Street Marketplace District Commission.

Christopher Haessly has lived in downtown Burlington for many years, more specifically right on Church St.

He is a member of the Church Street Marketplace District Commission and in all his years living in Burlington he has never seen such violence in the city before and is calling on local politicians to take action.

“I think we need to have a conversation going forward about whether or not we want to continue to allow firearms in bars and other downtown establishments,” Haessly said.

According to police, the shooting occurred at about 12:28 a.m. Saturday outside Red Square on Church St.

Police said they arrested Aaliyah Johnson, 22, of South Burlington, and seized a .45-caliber handgun.

According to Burlington Police, a Community Service Officer (CSO) heard gunshots and responded to the area. When he arrived, he found 30-year-old Teville Williams of Stowe shot to death.

Officers attempted to provide medical attention to Williams, but were prevented from doing so by a large crowd surrounding the officers.

They say the crowd had to be pushed back to secure the crime scene, which was found to contain shell casings, bullets and traces of blood.

According to Burlington police, the shooting stemmed from an altercation between Williams and Johnson, during which Williams allegedly attacked Johnson in Red Square.

The bar staff sent them both away through two different doors.

Johnson left the building through one door and went to the other to confront Williams on Church Street.

She then allegedly shot him several times.

“There are concerns from the business community. Nobody wants their business to be associated with gun violence. That's not a good image. It keeps people from coming downtown,” Haessly said.

WCAX reached out to Red Square for comment but did not receive a response.

However, in a social media post, the bar said it would remain closed that day so staff could process the incident.

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