Syeisha Byrd’s main focus early Tuesday, as she started work, was making sure eight Syracuse outdoor public pools had everything in place to face an opening week of steaming June heat: Enough staff, enough chlorine and all the complex plumbing and machinery at each site, working right.
Amid all that, Byrd — commissioner of city parks — received an afternoon call from Kevin Henry, the city’s director of operations and maintenance. She guessed he had some everyday question involving the progress of a city painting crew he was overseeing, at Onondaga Park. Instead, Henry said:
“Syeisha. They believe someone has been shot.”…