News: Victims Of The Medford Shooting

(Long Island, N.Y.) Four lives were claimed during the massacre at a Medford pharmacy on Father’s Day. Members of the press are calling the incident the worst mass killing since the 1974 Amityville Horror bloodbath. The latter incident took the lives of six family members and has grown notorious for its senseless brutality.

Family members of the victims are calling the thirty-three-year-old Medford gunman a coward. In the wake of the tragedy, police and authorities have tried to create a timeline of events that took place inside the pharmacy on that fateful morning. Reports stated that the shooter chatted with the pharmacist before shooting him in the abdomen and then turned his attention to the seventeen-year-old clerk.

It was also stated that the shooter fired at the pharmacist two more times before facing the unguarded customers who entered the store. Both were allegedly shot in the back of the head. Once the killings were over, the shooter proceeded to steal a large amount of drug ingredients and exited to make his getaway.

Police and authorities estimate that over four-hundred tips came from the public to aid investigators on the case. They quickly discovered that the thirty-three-year-old had been serving in the U.S. Army from 1994-2002, and received information from the U.S. Army Human Resources Command in Fort Knox. He had worked as an intelligence analyst, and according to his Facebook page, he had an attraction to weapons. The television show “Deadliest Warrior” was listed among his favorites and a Springfield XD pistol was listed among interests.

The funeral for the seventeen-year-old victim was held today at the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Roman Catholic Church. The church, which is located in Patchogue, is one of the largest on Long Island and is designed to cater to the large crowd of residents wishing to pay their respects. The service began at ten this morning and followed yesterday’s wake at Robertaccio Funeral Home on Route 112.

The girl’s classmates honored her at her would-be graduation by releasing white balloons and wearing ribbons of her favorite color. Classmates claimed that she will be remembered for what she wrote in yearbooks, noting that many tears had fallen inside the high school gym. Written tributes decorated the hats of the graduates, many of whom left their caps near candles and flowers at the memorial outside the drugstore.

Her picture was displayed at the podium and in the program, and her diploma was given to her family to be placed next to her casket. The girl, who others claimed put everyone before herself, was to be buried in her prom dress. Reports stated that she had been covering the shift for a fellow employee at the time of the shooting; the co-worker was a father that wanted off for the holiday.

Friends and classmates further honored her by making a rap with tearful lyrics and claiming that she helped unite the entire school. A vigil will be held for the victims tonight, and organization will begin at seven. The location, which was originally Hallock Park in Patchogue, has been moved to the Brookhaven Amphitheater on Bald Hill in Selden due to the expected turnout.

News: Information on the Medford Gunman

(Long Island, N.Y.) After arresting the man investigators believe is responsible for Sunday’s massacre at a Medford pharmacy, police and authorities have accumulated information further implicating the shooter. The thirty-three-year-old Medford resident was taken from his home a short distance away from the scene of four cold-blooded murders. Since capturing their lead suspect, police and detectives have gotten a closer look at what led the gaunt gunman to kill for prescription painkillers.

The thirty-three-year-old was unemployed during the time of the shooting, and living in a relatively comfortable suburban home. Prior to the incident, he was fired from his job as a commercial measuring instrument distributor at a Yaphank company called COSA Xentaur Instrument Corp. According to reports, he was fired after attempting to steal the property of a fellow employee.

As a result of the job loss, the suspect and his twenty-nine-year-old wife lost their health insurance. The wife, who also faces charges for her role in Sunday’s brutal crime, has stated that he lost his job over her heath issues. Reports claimed that she suggested he commit the robbery for her, shooting and killing four innocent people in the process.

One source claimed that the twenty-nine-year-old suffered from extreme dental pain and that she later apologized to the families of the victims. It was also stated that her husband filed for food stamps on Friday, just days before the shooting. Since responding to Sunday’s massacre, it took police roughly forty-eight hours to have the suspect’s home under surveillance.

The wife is being charged with third-degree robbery but has been allegedly cooperating with police and detectives on the case. Reports stated that she drove her husband to and from the pharmacy, giving investigators key information about the crime. Nonetheless, many family members and loved ones of the victims have demanded to know why she didn’t come forward before, or even immediately after the shooting.

Sources claimed that she is also being charged with obstructing government administration by getting in the way of police officers during the raid of her home. She is being guarded at St. Catherine’s Hospital in Smithtown.

The prosecutor for the case claimed that fingerprints matching the suspect was found at the pharmacy and that a .45 caliber handgun was discovered at his home. The gun had been disassembled and was legally registered to the suspect. Reports estimated that ten-thousand pills of hydrocodone, a drug used in the manufacturing of Vicodin, were stolen.

The suspect was a 1995 graduate of Patchogue-Medford high school who joined the army before his eighteenth birthday. He served eight years in the army and finished with the rank of a private first class. Reports stated that the couple returned to their home after the shooting and waved to neighbors while working in their yard.

Fifth Precinct Police Officers escorted the suspect to his arraignment at the First District Court in Central Islip. The proceedings allegedly lasted a few minutes before he was set to be held without bail. While the couple denies being addicted to drugs, many experts on the case have disagreed.

News: LI Seniors Punished for Prank

(Long Island, N.Y.) A group of fourteen students from East Rockaway High School have been denied participation in their graduation. Reports stated that the ceremony is scheduled for Friday, and that the excluded students compose about twelve percent of their graduating class. East Rockaway High School Class of 2011 will be missing a chunk of its one-hundred-and-nineteen seniors, and many involved with the school are outraged by the decision.

The decision to ban the students from graduation ceremonies came after a June 14th senior prank. Students engaged in a water balloon fight after school and off school grounds. Across the street from the school building, located on Ocean Avenue, the renegade students executed what they thought was a harmless tradition in marking the end to their high school careers.

Reports estimated that between twenty and forty students participated in the activity. At least one of the people involved claimed that the fourteen students were chosen by the administration because of their previous incidents of rule-breaking and defiance against school authority. Not surprisingly, the superintendent and school officials have painted a different picture of the ill-advised prank.

School officials claimed that the incident was insubordinate and reckless, and that it contributed to a risk of injury while disregarding safety. Prior to the prank, they had mailed notices to parents while explaining the penalties that would be enforced against senior jokesters. The first notice was sent in May and the second came just a month after.

Some of the penalties included banishment from the senior banquet, prom, graduation, and other end-of-the-year activities. An incident at the senior banquet caused five students to be suspended for three days, excluded from the senior picnic, and banned from the prom. Reports stated that students at the banquet initiated a food fight, and that three of the five suspended have also been penalized with graduation for their involvement in the water fight.

Balloons were thrown at the principal, assistant principal, and security guard, all of whom responded to the commotion. After exiting the building, East Rockaway High School Students walked into the direct line of the pranksters’ fire. According to reports, the security guard was unable to do his/her job; cars were hit as targets and traffic accumulated in the area.

The police were called to help keep the situation under control, but did little in the way of punishment after the gathering was broken up. Some of the people involved claimed that it was no big deal and wondered why the students later suffered harsher consequences. Several parents were outraged, believing that their children were punished for simply walking away and not doing enough to put an end to the prank.

Reports stated that some of the students could go as far as communicating their story to the American Civil Liberties union. They say that they hope to hold the school responsible even if the decision against graduation is not reversed.

News: Police Arrest in Pharmacy Shooting

(Long Island, N.Y.) Two subjects were taken out of a home in handcuffs at Pitchpine Place, just a short distance away from the scene of a gruesome shooting. Reports stated that the owner of the home, a thirty-three-year-old man, and his wife were brought into custody for questioning. Police and authorities on the case have reason to believe that the pair could be tied to the quadruple-homicide that occurred at a Medford pharmacy last Sunday.

According to sources, a freelance photographer at the scene of the arrest captured images and posted that a third party was also taken. Other reports made no mention of a third party, but claimed that police raided the couple’s home and brought them out individually. They may believe that the erratic man, who had claimed to be looking for painkillers, was responsible for shooting four innocent people execution-style in a pharmacy at a close range.

In response to the incident, police warned nearby drug stores by telling them to be wary of customers seeking drugs or expressing an urgent need for painkillers. It’s uncertain what kind of painkillers the shooter sought after. Followers of the case claim that the incident reflects a recent increase in heroine and prescription drug abuse across Long Island.

One of the victims was a thirty-three-year-old mother of two who was planning an October wedding. Her fiancé saw the shooter exit the store and believed there was something wrong. After entering, reports stated that he stumbled across the massacre and witnessed what he will never forget.

Long Island residents are hoping that the arrest will come as a solace to the grief-stricken community. The father of one of the victims expressed confidence prior to the arrest and communicated to the shooter “we’re going to get you.” Some see the eerie similarities between his statements and the desires shared by the grieving families of the Gilgo Beach victims.

Many are now calling the incident the “Father’s Day Massacre,” and the Suffolk County Police Commissioner considered the shooting one of the most heinous and brutal crimes he has encountered. Police and authorities on the case have received hundreds of tips from the public within the first forty-eight hours of the shooting. Dedicated detectives and investigators have helped sort through the information and utilize what was necessary to make an arrest.

Reports stated that the suspects were taken into custody and brought to police headquarters at Yaphank. Earlier that day, police and authorities had entered the home with a search warrant. Witnesses estimated that at least thirty officers were at the scene, some of whom helped take the suspects in for questioning.

The arrests came after a three-day manhunt, at roughly ten in the morning. Neighbors claimed that the process took just a few minutes, and that the suspect appeared to have lost his beard. One witness claimed that the suspect looked like the shell of a man, and it was reported that he once worked in logistics and shipping.

News: LI Road Rage Verdict Returned

(Long Island, N.Y.) A twenty-four-year-old man from Oceanside was handed a mixed verdict in a case that involved a road rage incident in 2009. Though he was charged with criminally negligent homicide regarding the death of a thirty-four-year-old man from Wantagh, he was acquitted of the harsher charge of second-degree manslaughter. Residents across Long Island are expressing strong reactions to the verdict, and many are divided in thinking justice was served.

The young man’s attorney claimed that he believed the guilty verdict of criminally negligent homicide would be reversed after an appeal. Under the charge of criminally negligent homicide, the defendant faces one to four years in prison. If he was convicted of second-degree manslaughter, for the altercation that occurred at ten in the morning of May 15th, he could have faced a maximum of five to fifteen.

The defense claimed that the jury’s verdict demonstrated that they didn’t find the twenty-four-year-old to be reckless. While the second-degree manslaughter charge implied that the risk of killing someone was ignored, the criminally negligent homicide charge suggested that the defendant killed by accident and without knowing or realizing the result. Reports stated that jury deliberations for the trial took a period of two days.

The incident, which occurred roughly two years ago, began after the defendant and victim drove East on West Beech Street in Long Beach. The defendant allegedly cut off the thirty-four-year-old and the duo argued after turning north toward East Park Avenue. They traveled east on Park, and reports stated that the defendant threw a small object at the victim’s vehicle.

After a two-mile altercation the fighting escalated; the victim blocked the defendant to get out of his car and exploded in rage. The defendant dialed emergency services, and reports stated that the last words heard from the victim were threats and profanities. The twenty-four-year-old then drove over the man with the front left wheel and rear left wheel.

The rear left wheel crushed the victim’s skull and an autopsy revealed broken legs, ribs, and massive internal damage. Tire tracks were imprinted on the torso, chest, and face. The defense attempted to justify the killing and had claimed that the thirty-four-year-old had been under the influence of steroids.

The District Attorney claimed that the jury was faced with a difficult task and hard decision, and respected the verdict for ensuring that the defendant will be made responsible for his actions. A witness allegedly heard a scream and the victim’s head rattling in the undercarriage, claiming he was like a cat in the road. The prosecution attempted to undermine the defense by stating that the young man didn’t have a gun to his head, knife to his throat or a hand on his neck at the time of the incident; attorneys portrayed the victim as a human speed bump.

The trial lasted a span of six weeks and sentencing is scheduled for August 16th. A large crowd formed before the verdict was revealed, prompting officials to occupy a larger room at the Nassau County Courthouse. Some followers of the case wondered what the outcome would have been if the defendant were a young woman.

News: Rare Disease Affects Long Island Girl

(Long Island, N.Y.) A five-year-old pre-K student from Bayport has been publicized for her remarkable journey battling a rare brain disorder. The type of ailment, which causes uncontrollable obesity and extreme sleep apnea, has less than eighty documented cases worldwide. The disease was discovered years ago, and named in 2007 after twenty-three children were studied.

Three of the children died and others suffered from significant brain damage due to ROHHAD. ROHHAD is an acronym for Rapid-onset Obesity with Hypothalamic Dysfunction, Hypoventilation and Autonomic Dysregulation. As can be inferred, very little is known about ROHHAD and specialists for the rare disorder are often short of funding.

Reports stated that the Bayport girl was a normal baby with no known health problems. Her difficulty breathing gradually escalated, forcing her to wear a four-foot-long breathing tube and push around a hospital ventilator. The machine, which she affectionately calls “Venti,” ensures that her levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide are appropriate.

Mucus has to be cleaned out periodically from the equipment, resulting in a ritual most often performed by her devoted parents. The ritual takes as much as an hour on some nights, and along with needle-pricking for blood tests and recordkeeping of sustenance and wastes, it becomes a daily part of her routine. She must stay in hearing distance to a supervisor because a monitor often alerts her caretakers of changes in her oxygen count.

The disease affects the hypothalamus, a gland in the brain that controls breathing, temperature, blood pressure, hunger/thirst, blinking, and fatigue. Reports stated that it’s possible to experience new symptoms daily with ROHHAD. In addition to having a hole in her throat, the five-year-old Bayport girl suffers from cold and swollen extremities.

The risks she faces include seizures and brain damage due to a cease in breathing and oxygen shortage. The risk for cardiac arrest is amplified because she doesn’t give warning by gasping for air. The risk of death is also present, being that children are affected with ROHHAD before the age of four and the oldest known sufferer is a twenty-one-year-old from Colorado.

The devoted family has visited over two dozen doctors and has purchased a backup generator while taking extra measures to ensure their daughter’s livelihood. They claim that the first signs of rapid weight gain occurred in April of last year when they noticed the toddler with a potbelly. Despite being potty trained, she also showed signs of involuntary urination and suffered from a benign tumor in her abdomen.

Contrary to her health, the five-year-old’s spirits have been flourishing. A verbal, positive, and intelligent child, the Bayport girl inspires many Long Islanders with her story. Since her diagnosis, family members have organized a charity called ROHHAD Fight Inc. that raises money for medical bills and research; her golf-instructor father is planning a tournament in West Sayville for July 18th.

News: Plane Crashes Headed for Montauk

(Long Island, N.Y.) A single-engine high wing Cessna P210 Centurion aircraft crashed on its way to Montauk, killing all four of the passengers. The accident occurred Saturday after an afternoon departure from a Westchester airport. The experienced pilot was a sixty-three-year old father, who perished along with his wife and fourteen-year-old daughter.

Another fourteen-year-old girl, a friend of the pilot’s daughter, was also killed in the crash. The aircraft fell into a wooded area near a small office park in New Castle roughly two minutes into the flight. Reports stated that the property, a mile northwest of the airport, belonged to a company that supplies water to New York City and is owned by the city’s Department of Environmental Protection.

The aircraft had been heading due north into clear skies and light winds, amidst what many described as beautiful weather. According to reports, the plane clipped trees shortly after takeoff while it was only fifty feet above ground. It crashed at a steep angle after the pilot had tried to turn around.

Prior to that, the pilot had told Air Traffic Control that he had to return due to an unspecified emergency. Police and authorities on the case are uncertain about what caused the crash, but know that it caught fire after impact. The fire quickly consumed the fuselage and cockpit.

Reports stated that the plane’s retractable landing gear was up and the wing flaps were retracted at the time of the crash. There were no known witnesses to the accident, and the pilot never mentioned problems prior to the tragedy. The pilot, who was a licensed flight instructor, had owned the plane for at least three years.

An investigation has been conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board, and should span a minimum of two to three days. Since police and authorities on the case have identified the victims, they have learned that the pilot’s wife was also a licensed pilot. The pilot’s father had given him flying lessons for his sixteenth birthday, which lead him to obtain nearly fifty years of flying experience.

The pilot’s daughter had just turned fourteen a week before the accident and the family lived on West 57th Street in Manhattan. He was been married for twenty-five years and his family owns a fine arts framing business. His eighty-five-year old father claimed that he enjoyed flying and took to it well.

Part of the investigation will examine recorded radar and radio traffic footage. Reports stated that the maintenance records for the aircraft have not yet been discovered. A 300 horsepower turbocharged engine with the propeller was the only object that could be identified amongst the debris.

Reports stated that the plane was built in 1980 and was a six-seater, as verified by the Federal Aviation Administration. It was based at Panorama Flight Service in White Plains. The model was introduced in 1959 and an estimated nine-thousand were built between 1960-1986. It allegedly passed examination and was considered a safe aircraft.

News: Father’s Day Shooting in Medford

(Long Island, N.Y.) A shooting occurred at a Medford pharmacy leaving four people dead on Father’s Day. One of the victims was a seventeen-year-old girl who had been preparing to graduate high school in the coming days. A memorial was held today for the victims, allowing loved ones to grieve after yesterday’s incident shocked the community.

The shooting occurred at roughly twenty minutes past ten on Sunday at Haven Drugs, a family-owned pharmacy on Southaven Avenue. Among the victims was a forty-five-year-old pharmacist from Centereach, a thirty-three-year-old customer from Farmingville, and a seventy-one-year-old customer from Medford. The seventeen-year-old victim and pharmacy assistant was a student at Bellport High School, set to attend Wednesday’s prom.

Religious candles representing the sacred heart of Jesus were placed among pink and purple flowers to honor the victims in Medford. The area is a middle-class hamlet, located roughly sixty miles east of New York City in a subdued community easily shaken by the tragedy. Angered residents quickly wished severe punishment on the shooter, as some hoped for justice to come through the death penalty.

The seventeen-year-old victim was just five minutes from her home at the time of the shooting. She was a good student who wanted to study medicine at Suffolk Community College. Her shift started at ten that morning and she had been covering for a co-worker.

Reports stated that she wished her father a quick “Happy Father’s Day” before heading to work, believing she’d be returning home to celebrate. Roughly twenty minutes after she left, her family received a call alerting them that something was wrong at the pharmacy. After they rushed to see what happened, the grief-stricken father was presented with the heartbreaking task of identifying his daughter as one of the dead.

The victim’s seventeen-year-old sister also worked at the pharmacy but had taken Sunday off. At the time of the incident, a witness alerted emergency responders about hearing gunfire in the parking lot. Police and authorities on the case believe that the man robbed the pharmacy of prescription drugs, and claimed that he is still at large, armed, and extremely dangerous.

Surveillance video shows the man inside the pharmacy. He is a thin white man with short dark hair, mustache, and beard. His height is five-feet-and-eight-inches and he was seen wearing a white baseball hat, sunglasses, blue jeans, and a dark-colored hooded sweatshirt.

He had been carrying a handgun and is in his late twenties to early thirties. He fled the pharmacy with a backpack and police are offering a five-thousand-dollar reward through Crime Stoppers for information leading to his arrest. Some reports stated that the store’s owner had to be taken in an ambulance after arriving at the scene.

News: LI Workers Enjoy Payoff for Powerball Lotto

(Long Island, N.Y.) The twenty employees from the Melville Costco, who are now millionaires, became the topic of conversation as they were pictured with their hefty checks. The winning ticket afforded them $201.9 million, which some have estimated will leave them with $70.2 million to divide after taxes. The ecstatic workers recently returned to the store to speak with fellow workers and shoppers, uniting as a group of happy and rich employees.

The winning ticket was drawn earlier this month on June 1st and the Costco workers’ pool began about a month prior. According to reports, the pool members decided to join the hopeful contestants of the Powerball Lotto once the stakes had reached $144 million. Several weeks went by without any winners, causing the sum to reach its summit of over $200 million.

The Costco employees who participated were later notified that their five-dollar-a-weekend pool afforded them six-figure earnings. Some of the winners claimed that they couldn’t believe their eyes. The wide range of winning workers consisted of a group of pharmacists, security guards, meat cutters, merchandise managers, and supervisors.

Some of the winners also claimed that the current economy has inspired them to save the money and make it last. They claimed that the jackpot has caused them to breathe easier and look forward to leading happier lives. Most declared that they would use the earnings to help take care of their families, and at least one worker intended on continuing at Costco.

The employee who purchased the ticket was a seventy-three-year-old man from Lindenhurst. Reports stated that he is a die-hard Brooklyn Dodgers baseball fan, a fact that prompted the group of winning workers to call themselves the “1937 Flatbush Avenue Dodgers.” The year was allegedly associated with the man’s birthday, and the historic baseball team later went to California after the 1957 season.

According to reports, each of the winners opted to receive a lump sum payout instead of stretching their winnings over a span of twenty years. Some wonder whether their decision speaks to the current state of the economy. The incident has many Long Islanders questioning what they would do in the place of the Costco group of employees.

A sixty-one-year-old worker from Copiague claimed that he would opt for a trip to Las Vegas, and another employee mentioned the decision to upgrade a motorcycle. Other employees had spoken about financing family reunions and purchasing/modifying homes. One worker was vacationing in Mexico at the time when news of the winning ticket was revealed to the group.

Some reports have accused the winning workers of being media-shy, claiming that spokesmen were designated to speak for the entire group. The retailer that sold the winning ticket was also under the spotlight, and lottery officials provided the store with a ten-thousand-dollar bonus.

News: Long Island Ban On Outdoor Smoking

(Long Island, N.Y.) A bill that would prevent public outdoor smoking at ticketing, boarding, and platform areas of railroads on Long Island has been given to the governor for consideration. This initiative comes after the New York City ban of smoking outdoors in areas like Central Park and Manhattan beaches. The recent legislation illustrates that smoking bans in the tri-state area have expanded to many more settings over a few years’ time.

The State Senate convened on Thursday to take final steps in the bill’s legislative approval. The bill was passed in the assembly, and New York City and New Jersey have already adopted similar laws. Smoking is banned in a variety of places ranging from restaurants to subway stations.

Proponents of the bill have claimed that secondhand smoke has plagued the lungs of nonsmokers while they travel using Long Island railways. They claimed that the health benefits of making public areas smoke-free have been successfully recognized in recent years. The air quality is among the concerns for proponents of the bill, along with the necessity of making daily commutes pleasant and less stressful for nonsmokers.

Opponents of the bill and a vast amount of Long Island smokers have claimed that there is an important flipside to the legislation. Reports stated that they have felt targeted by the recent bans, claiming that their lives have become more stressful as a result of the prohibitions. In addition to such viewpoints, they have claimed that arguments could ensue among smokers and civilian commuters who take it upon themselves to enforce the bill.

Supporters of the bill include the Metropolitan Transit Authority, which joins the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North in being affected by the legislation. The possible signature of the governor will turn the bill into a law, which is good news for the American Lung Association and American Cancer Society. Such organizations claim that the only way to protect nonsmokers is to eliminate the source of smoke, and that crowded public areas increase the health issues for those with asthma, heart, and respiratory problems.

Reports stated that the American Lung Association estimated that 3,400 nonsmokers die each year from secondhand smoke. The New York State Department of Health has claimed that secondhand smoke kills 2,500 New Yorkers a year. Such shocking statistics were among the reasons a republican senator from Merrick has sponsored the latest bill.

According to reports, the same senator also authored the 2003 Clean Indoor Air Act. The 2003 New York City smoking ban prohibited smoking in areas that served food and/or alcohol. Nonetheless, reports stated that certain clauses have allowed smoking in cigar bars. In response to the string of recent New York smoking bans, residents in other areas have expressed the desire to extend bans into certain bus terminals.