Bennington Police Department. Photo by Emma Cotton/VTDigger

Updated at 6:04 p.m.

The suspect in a fatal Bennington shooting on Wednesday has been arrested in a neighboring New York town, police said.

Elliot Russell, 46, was arrested in the village of Hoosick Falls on Thursday afternoon on a New York charge, said Bennington Police Lt. Camillo Grande.

Earlier that day, the Bennington Police Department identified Russell as the “offender” in the shooting death of Ulysses Ivey, 39, at a Green Mountain Power substation along Main Street on Wednesday night. Russell was described as “armed and dangerous.”

Police said they received a call about the shooting at around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday. Emergency responders found Ivey dead at the scene, marking the town’s second homicide case this year.

Investigators have not indicated the relationship between the men, or a motive for the killing. Grande said Bennington police were working to present a criminal case to the county prosecutor’s office.

Both of the homicide cases involved firearms, and were among Bennington’s 18 shooting incidents for this year alone.

“This is very alarming for us,” Grande said. “It just seems to be a growing problem.”

In July, Bennington Police Chief Paul Doucette told local officials that violent crimes in town have significantly increased in the past six months. He cited a rise in stabbings, drive-by shootings and gang activity. 

Correction: An earlier version of this story misspelled Elliot Russell’s first name.

VTDigger's southern Vermont and substance use disorder reporter.