Bayside party ends in shooting overnight

BAYSIDE (WABC) -- Two men were shot as they were leaving a house party overnight Saturday.

Around midnight on 28th Avenue in Bayside, following an argument with a man at the party, the first victim, 27, was shot in the torso. He was taken to New York Hospital Queens and is in critical condition.

The second victim, 23, also suffered a gunshot wound to the torso and was taken to North Shore Hospital, also critical.

The next morning, broken bottles of Hennessy littered the sidewalk, while beer cups covered the front lawn.

"Everyone freaked out. I was going up the stairs to see what was happening, but when the gunshots happened, everyone just started tackling downstairs, I fell, and mad girls were getting hurt," said Frankie Marchione.

Marchione said it was a peaceful night that suddenly turned violent. The Fresh Meadows man says he found out about the party on Instagram, so he says there were several different groups of people who did not know each other. Sources say approximately 200 people packed the home, and gunfire rang out around midnight.

Police say the shooter was waiting for his two victims outside the home - a 27-year-old man, and a 23-year-old man were both shot in their stomachs. Both victims were critically wounded.

Marchione says at first, partygoers thought it was a BB gun that went off, before realizing things were turning violent.

"I don't know - there was like a fight upstairs, and I was going up to see the fight, and I just hear gunshots, so I'm like 'oh!', so I start going back down, and everyone is like tackling to get out the way and run," Marchione adds, "I heard 2 (gunshots) inside, and then I heard some more outside."

Marchione says male partygoers paid $20 to get in, and women got in for free. He also said that most attendees did not appear to be from the area.

Police say many of the partygoers were also underage, and that the owner of the home had rented the house for the night.

Neighbors say she was home when this all happened. She would only say to Eyewitness News, "It's better if I don't say anything right now."

Joe Mossa is her neighbor across the street.

"Sure, I was surprised, I don't even know how can a 1-family home can rent for a party. That doesn't make no sense," says Mossa.

The biggest question of all is what sparked the violence - police are currently still investigating.

No arrests have been made at this time.