The person found dead inside an Auburn residence was a 30-year-old woman who lived at the duplex where police responded to shots-fired complaints, the Cayuga County Sheriff's Office said Wednesday.
In a news release Wednesday morning, the sheriff's office said Brandi R. Baida, 30, of 12 Wheeler St., was the person police found dead when they entered the residence after trying for more than three hours to make contact with anyone inside. No one else was inside the home. Baida was found in an upstairs bedroom.
Neighbors called in shots-fired complaints around 11:30 a.m. Tuesday. When officers responded, the sheriff's office, they encountered gunfire from an upstairs window at 12 Wheeler St. Officers returned fire, and then established a perimeter around the house to secure the scene.
The sheriff's office is involved in the investigation because the incident involved Auburn Police Department gunfire. New York State Police and members of the New York Attorney General鈥檚 Office of Special Investigations are also working on the investigation, and the Cayuga County District Attorney鈥檚 Office is assisting, the sheriff's office said.
People are also reading…
Another resident at 12 Wheeler St., Jeffery Meaney, was picked up on an unrelated bench warrant around 2 p.m. Tuesday at the corner of Clark Street and Aurelius Avenue, where police had blocked traffic as part of the established perimeter. But Sheriff Brian Schenck said it does not appear that Meaney had any involvement in the shots-fired incident.
The sheriff's office said an autopsy will be conducted Wednesday by the Onondaga County Medical Examiner鈥檚 Office to determine exact cause of death.
Schenck said investigators are still trying to determine why shots were being fired from the Wheeler Street residence, and additional information is not being released at this point because the investigation is continuing.
One of the neighbors who called 911 about hearing gunshots is Christopher Anthony, who lives next door to the 10-12 Wheeler St. duplex. In an interview Wednesday, he told 水果派AV that he first heard shooting around 11 a.m., but at first didn't think it was gunfire because there are often loud banging noises coming from a nearby industrial site.
But about 15 minutes later, after he heard more of the same kind of noise and thought he heard glass breaking, he went outside to check out the situation. That's when he eventually saw a gun barrel sticking out from an upstairs front window. He placed his 911 call at 11:19 a.m., according to the APD calls for service log.
An officer arrived and came to his door to ask about what he heard and saw, and while they were talking another shot was fired, Anthony said. At that point, Anthony retreated inside and the officer took cover, he said. When additional law enforcement units arrived, the gunfire exchange with police occurred.
Anthony said he never saw any people inside or around the 12 Wheeler St. residence.
Anthony, who has lived on Wheeler Street a little over a year, said Baida was a friendly person. He is trying to process what happened.
"I never expected anything like this to happen at all, ever," he said. "I'm still kind of dumbfounded."
The sheriff's office is asking anyone with information related to the case to call Detective Sgt. Rob Franklin at (315) 253-1132. Information can also be submitted at by clicking on the “Send a Tip” tab.
One person was found dead inside an Auburn home on Wheeler Street where police officers encountered gunshots and returned fire during an incid…