71-year-old man charged in shooting on Wall Street in Huntington, police say

A 71-year-old man accused of shooting a 21-year-old Fort Salonga man who was chasing him early Saturday morning in Huntington has been arrested on an assault charge, police said.

Huntington resident John Rech was charged with second-degree assault after allegedly shooting the Fort Salonga man on Wall Street around 5 a.m. on Saturday, Suffolk County police said on Monday. The man was taken to a hospital, where he was being treated for serious but non-fatal injuries. 

Rech had a legitimate firearm license for the gun used in the shooting, police said in a news release. 

On Sunday, Rech pleaded not guilty at an arraignment in First District Court in Central Islip, the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office said in an email. A judge set his bail at "$25,000 cash, $50,000 bond or $250,000 partially secured bond."

Bob Macedonio, an attorney for Rech, said his client was exercising that morning when several people started to chase him. 

"Mr. Rech is a licensed firearm holder. He maintains his innocence, and we are gathering all the videotape from the route where he was walking that morning," Macedonio said in a phone interview Monday. "And we believe once we have all the videotape footage, it'll show that Mr. Rech acted appropriately within the confines of the law." 

By Tiffany Cusaac-Smith

tiffany.cusaac-smith@newsday.com@T_Cusaac

Tiffany Cusaac-Smith is a general assignment reporter for Newsday. She previously worked at USA TODAY and is an alum of Howard University.