GUILDERLAND — “Absolutely terrifying” is the way one a Depot Road resident described Saturday night.

A man was stabbed and another man was shot, police say, at a music festival in the wee hours of Sunday morning. No suspects are in custody.

Guilderland Police responded at 1:49 a.m. on Oct. 20 to a report of a stabbing at 400 Gipps Lane and found a 23-year-old man from Rome, New York had been stabbed in the head, Kristopher Scarano, the public information officer for the Guilderland Police, told The Enterprise.

About 17 minutes later, officers already on the scene heard gunshots and found a 21-year-old man from Brooklyn had been shot in the shoulder.

A series of conversations over police radio capture the scene as one officer shouts “shots fired!” in a panicked voice eight times in a row.

Both victims were treated on the scene by Guilderland Emergency Medical Services and transported to a local hospital for further treatment.

Scarano said the names of the hospitals as well as the victims’ names were not being released, for their protection. He described their injuries as “definitely serious,” and added, “I think they’re going to be OK.”

He did not know the size of the crowd at the event, calling it “decent-sized,” nor who organized the event.

Several media reports speculated that the gathering was related to the University at Albany homecoming.

“It wasn’t a UAlbany event,” Amy Geduldig, director of public information for the university, told The Enterprise on Monday morning.

She later emailed a statement saying, “The University had no connection with the event, and we do not allow outside organizations to use our name or brand to promote programs unaffiliated with the University.”

“We realized it was a dangerous situation,” Scarano said, so State Police, the Albany County Sheriff’s Office, and police from the State University at New York were called to the scene to disperse the crowd.

Police conducted interviews at the scene, Scarano said. “There are a lot of pieces to the puzzle we’re trying to put together,” he said.

Scarano said he could not reveal more for fear of compromising the ongoing investigation. Anyone with information is urged to call the department’s Criminal Investigation Unit at 518-356-1501.

A neighbor’s view

Yvonne Davis and her husband along with other neighbors, she said, have been concerned about the venue that popped up last year at the old Gipp Farm, which is behind the Davises’ Depot Road home in a rural part of Guilderland.

The venue is accessed by a narrow, rutted dirt road, past several barns, opening to an expansive field with a view of the Helderbergs.

The town’s assessment roll says the 140-acre property at 400 Gipps Lane is owned by William G. Gipp with a full market value of $529,146.

The gatherings held there last year were not so bad, Davis said.

The Enterprise wrote about the Spirit of the Grateful Dead playing there on Sept. 29 and 30, 2023 in a concert called High Altitude Festival as part of its national tour. 

An earlier High Altitude Festival had been held there the weekend of June 30, featuring camping, food, vendors, and a bonfire, while advertising itself as pot- and ATV-friendly.

Both gatherings were authorized by the town through the mass-gathering permit process, which is why nearby residents were not alerted to the events, The Enterprise heard from Supervisor Peter Barber at the time. He said that the town’s zoning department was awaiting advice from legal counsel on whether similar events at the same property should require a special-use permit in the future. 

To get a mass-gathering permit, Barber explained a year ago, the town gets approval from local police and medical departments, among others, and then sends staff out to “review site conditions, and operational conditions, like onsite ambulance, wastewater, water, etc.” 

The Enterprise called Barber on Monday to find out what that legal advice had been and also to learn more about last weekend’s event, including who had applied for the permit.

Barber responded through an email, “I unfortunately cannot comment due to the pending criminal investigation. Once that’s completed, I can share more details about the required permits.”

Davis said she and her neighbors have been dismayed by the lack of response from the town.

“If you make a venue that big, it’s going to get out of control,” Davis said. “And that’s what happened this weekend.”

Davis estimated there were 800 to 1,000 people at the venue and said the event was sponsored by Triple O Entertainment.

“Originally From Brooklyn, New York, Triple O Entertainment Is Known For Hosting Large Scale Events With Thousands Of People In Attendance,” says the Facebook page for Triple O Entertainment.

The page also has posts about the “Albany Homecoming Line Up,” which may be where the confusion about the event’s sponsor arose since coincidentally UAlbany celebrated its homecoming last weekend. “Early Bird Tickets,” purchased through Eventbrite were already sold out, the Triple O Entertainment page said ahead of the weekend event.

Until the venue opened in the farmland behind her house, Davis said that the neighborhood had been “quiet, very quiet.”

Now, she said, “They have a huge stage for the bands, tents, and porta-potties.”

The most recent disturbance started on Friday night, Oct. 18, Davis said.

“Friday night, my husband heard the noise,” said Davis. “He got up to let the dog out like he does every night … Well, there was so much noise back there — the boom, boom, boom — that our dog would not go out.”

She went on, “During the day on Saturday, there was liquor bottles all over the place, red Solo cups all over the place. It’s just been absolute craziness and you could hear everything back there, people streaming and yelling and the music … the town just didn’t care.”

The Davises went to bed on Saturday night.

“In the middle of the night, we were awoken by all these flashing lights going by the house,” she said. “We both got up and counted over 20 police cars and five ambulances,” said Davis.

Asked if she was scared, Davis said, “My God, yes, my God … You knew something bad was going on because all these cars were leaving. They were just leaving and leaving ….

“Even when the police were there … we could still hear people yelling and screaming. And I was nervous that people were going to start running through the woods to our house, you know, you just don’t know who.”

Davis concluded of the town, “They should have looked into it more because we were told last year that, when they have events back there, they were going to monitor them.”

Voices in the moment

A series of recordings, posted to Facebook, of police radio conversations among officers at the scene and between officers and dispatch capture the unfolding drama.

“We have a stab wound in the head, severe injuries,” an officer reports.

EMS is on the way, he is told.

“They’re going to have a very hard time getting up here,” is the response.

Another segment says, “It’s going to be like a half-a-mile drive up the driveway.”

As the dispatcher asks about the victim of the stabbing, an officer says “He’s conscious but … he’s bleeding pretty good out of the head.” He says that a sheriff’s deputy said to put “pressure directly to the head.”

“We’re trying to do the best we can to open up the road; it’s very limited access,” says the dispatcher.

And later an officer says, “He’s losing consciousness, dispatch, losing consciousness.”

In another segment, a panicked officer shouts, “We got something else going on. Shots fired! Shots fired! Shots fired! Shots fired! Shots fired! Shots fired! Shots fired! Shots fired!”

“Copy that: shots fired, shots fired,” comes the response. “Affirmative; I heard you. I got everybody coming.”

“Anybody got eyes on the shooter?” asks an officer. “I’m moving towards the stage.”

In another segment, an officer says, “No active shots anymore being fired but I do have a large crowd … can’t tell you how many.”

“Hey, if you guys have riot spray, bring the riot spray with you,” says an officer.

In another segment: “We got somebody that’s shot over by the stabbing victim … We need help up here.” He reports four to six shots were fired.

“They’re coming as soon as they can, as fast as they can,” responds the dispatcher.

“We do have a shooting victim in the shoulder,” comes the report. “I am with the person … approximately a 20-year-old man … right next to the stabbing victim.”

“Do we have a suspect yet?” asks the dispatcher.

“Negative, negative, negative,” comes the reply.