BY SCOTT LEFFLER
scott.leffler@eastniagarapost.com

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Shamir Allen

ROCHESTER — A possible suspect in several Lockport-area shootings was arrested around 7:30 a.m. by the U.S. Marshals with the assistance of the Niagara County Warrants Division and is currently in the Niagara County Jail.

Nineteen-year-old Shamir W. Allen, aka "DuWop," had active warrants in the Town of Lockport for several violent felonies and was considered a "person of interest" in several Lockport crimes, according to Police Chief Larry Eggert.

Eggert called his apprehension "obviously a great thing," adding, "I'm hoping that once we get him in custody, people will be more willing to come forward."

The Lockport Police Department will make an effort to interview those previous shooting victims and will attempt to interview Allen himself.

"We'll have to contact his attorney and go through his attorney to see if we can talk to him," Eggert said. "He's a 19-year-old young man, but from what we're told, he's a pretty hardened individual."

There have been approximately a dozen shootings in and around the city this year, including one LPD has no doubt Allen was involved in — as the victim. That happened on June 9 when police were called to Eastern Niagara Hospital-Lockport to talk with a man who had been shot in the leg. The victim — Allen — refused to tell police where he had been shot or who shot him.

LPD Capt. Brian Wentland had previously said that Allen is well known to the police department, having been arrested four times in 2013 and once this year.

Officials from the Greater Buffalo Metropolitan Crime Stoppers had offered a $1,000 reward for information leading to Allen's arrest.

Niagara County Sheriff Jim Voutour said Allen was a high priority for his office and people in the Warrants Division had devoted most of their time to his apprehension over the course of the past two weeks.

"They worked hard," Voutour said, and in the end it paid off. "He's a dangerous guy, a very dangerous guy, and he's off the streets now."

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