A South Ozone Park man killed himself Wednesday while sitting in his car near Beach Channel High School after getting into an argument with his wife and shooting her in the face, police said.
Michael Dickson, 43, of 116-24 Van Wyck Expressway, got into a verbal altercation with his wife, 41-year-old Antoinette Dickson, around 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, a police source said.
Michael Dickson then shot his wife in the head, the source said, and she was rushed to Jamaica Hospital in stable condition.
Dickson fled the home and officers from the 106th Precinct tracked his cell phone to a location near Beach Channel High School in the Rockaways, the source said, and police helicopters were dispatched to the area.
A secretary at the high school said Beach Channel was put under lockdown at around 3 p.m. but there were few students around.
Officers then found Dickson sitting in his car in a field near the high school about six hours after he shot his wife, according to the source.
“The car sitting in the middle of the field stuck out like a sore thumb,” the source said.
Officers attempted to get Dixon to get out of his car, but he shot himself and died.
“He didn’t shoot straight,” the source said. “He shot half his head off.”
Reach reporter Howard Koplowitz by e-mail at hkoplowitz@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 173.