A man is dead and another in custody after following a shootout last night with a Nassau County cop, police said today.
The body of the dead suspect was found inside the Valley Stream home following a botched home invasion attempt, Nassau County police homicide chief Det. Lt. John Azatta said.
The events unfolded when at least two men attempted a home invasion at about 9:15 a.m., police said.
The homeowner drove up and noticed a man in the bushes with a gun. That’s when he tried honking his horn to scare him off, police said.
When that didn’t work, the man called his brother and told him, “There is a problem here,” according to Azatta.
While the brother called 911, the thief led the victim at gunpoint into the home, where a second suspect joined in, police said.
Once inside, the crook used a cord to tie the hands of the man and an 11-year-old boy. Both of them, along with another woman and three other kids, were ordered into the living room, police said.
The men took an undetermined cash from the home and went to the back of the home.
At the same time, a cop pulled up to the home and peered into the living room window.
The man who was tied up inside the home signalled to the cop that the men were in the back of the home, police said.
“The male motions to the officer, somehow, that bad guys are in the back of the home,” Azatta said.
That’s when the hero officer kicked in the back door and confronted the men.
Cops said one of the thieves may have shot himself. Ballistics tests still needs to determine whose bullet killed him.
A second suspect surrendered, police said.
No cops were wounded in the gunfight, police said.
A total of six cops responded to the scene.