New and troubling details are slowly coming to light as an investigation into a weekend shooting that took place near the Long Island home of New York State gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin unfolds.
The New York Post reported that the shooting “may have” been “prompted” by the Bloods gang.
The shooting took place at about 2:20 p.m. Sunday on Shirley Street, Long Island. Neighbors reported that pandemonium broke out as weapons were fired and one of the victims began screaming, “Oh, my God!”
Speaking of his 15-year-old brother, who seemingly was one of the targets in the shooting, Tyvon Smith, 26, told the Post: “At first we didn’t believe him [when he said he and two others were targeted in the drive-by shooting].
Noting what it was like when he found his teen brother after the shooting, Smith said, “Tyler came over in shock. He was crying, saying that his friends, his brothers, got shot. He said they were shooting at him, too.”
Smith added: “They were driving by and just took some shots at them, and Tyler just got lucky. At first we didn’t believe him,” Smith repeated. “I said he was just kidding, just playing, that he was just playing too many video games.”
Smith said his brother and two friends “were walking to the store” when the gunfire erupted. “Maybe he had a problem with someone, and they seen him, and they took a shot,” Smith speculated. “I’m happy he didn’t get hit.”
Tonya Vasquez, a neighbor who lives across the street, recounted: “I heard the gunshots, seven to nine of them, and I went into my daughter’s room.”
“I heard the screaming, a young man’s voice screaming, ‘Call 911! Call 911!’ Just crying and screaming, ‘Oh, my God! Oh, my God!'” she added.
Vasquez continued: “He ran over to the corner, and the heavier-set kid came out near the stop sign. My daughter was yelling at me, ‘Don’t go out there! Don’t go out there!'”
“One [teen was] skinny and tall, and the other one kind of heavy-set. The thinner kid had on black jeans and a red do-rag on his head. The heavier kid was wearing a white T-shirt. He was on the phone screaming,” Vasquez said.
The harrowing, mid-day happening hit close to home for Zeldin, a 46-year-old congressman who has campaigned for governor on a tough-on-crime platform.
On Monday, he shared that his twin 16-year-old daughters, who were home alone at the time of the shooting, are still “pretty shaken.”
The New York Post reports Zeldin saying: “My daughters ended up sleeping with my wife and I, all four of us were in the bedroom last night. This was a lot for them to have to experience.”
Suffolk County Police report that “three teenagers were walking on Saint George Drive around 2:19 p.m. Sunday when “a dark-colored vehicle” drove by and an occupant fired multiple gunshots through the vehicle’s window.”
Two of the teens, Joel Murphy and Elijah Robinson, both 17, fled into Zeldin’s yard after being wounded in the melee — one reportedly stumbled over a Zeldin campaign sign.
Local police acknowledge the incident could be gang-related but have no hard evidence to substantiate that claim.
Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison reported on Monday: “This is an unfortunate incident. The two victims shot, both were 17 years of age. One round struck Congressman Zeldin’s residence. His daughters were here and were rightfully shaken up.”
“I see too many guns on the streets…” Harrison said. “We gotta get the guns out of these individuals’ hands.”
Zeldin, a Republican, has represented District 1 in the House of Representatives since 2015 and is challenging Gov. Kathy Hochul for her seat in November.
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