2 dead, off-duty Yonkers officer wounded in Queens shooting
ASTORIA, Queens (WABC) -- Two people are dead and an off-duty Yonkers police officer is wounded following a shooting inside a home in Queens on Friday morning that authorities believe was a possible attempted murder-suicide.
The shots were reported inside the home on 77th Street in Astoria just before 7 a.m.
"What we do believe, standing here is three individuals, you have two of them are romantically involved, one possibly an ex-boyfriend and one is a current boyfriend," NYPD Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea said.
Arriving officers found the 43-year-old off-duty Yonkers officer shot in the shoulder and with possible stab wounds to his back. Inside the home, police found a 47-year-old man and a 31-year-old woman both shot in the head. The man was reportedly holding a semi-automatic weapon.
Police say that the woman called 911 saying her ex-boyfriend had shot her, and officers heard 10 shots as they approached the house.
The off-duty officer was not in possession of his service weapon. He was taken to Elmhurst Hospital for treatment of serious injuries.
Friends say the suspect was an ex-boyfriend who had grown increasingly violent, and they say the victim was terrified and had contacted police on several occasions. The off-duty officer was her current boyfriend.
"Beginning this week, on Monday, we had several calls to this general vicinity," Shea said. "We had an incident involving a car being keyed, and it involved the three individuals that I just spoke about."
Friends say the suspect had begun to stalk the victim, and they believe the police failed her.
"He had a rap sheet," a friend named Stephanie said. "She wanted nothing to do with him. He would not leave her alone. He stalked her, blew up her phone, keyed cars. He stole some things that belonged to her. She had the locks changed in her house multiple times. Nothing."
The investigation is ongoing.
The Yonkers Police Department issued the following statement:
"The Yonkers Police Department is aware of an incident involving an off-duty Yonkers police officer at a 77th Street address in Queens, New York, this morning. The New York City Police Department is the primary and investigating agency, and we are making all our resources available to them to assist in their investigation. The involved Yonkers police officer is presently receiving medical attention at a local area hospital, and has over four years of service with the Department. The Yonkers Police Department offers its sincere condolences to the families of the victims and their colleagues. No further information will be released by this agency at this time, and media inquiries are directed to the NYPD Office of Public Information."
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