Cops ID Northwell employee shot dead in 'targeted incident' 

The fatal shooting of a Northwell Health employee on Thursday was a "targeted incident," Nassau police said Friday, as they identified the victim as a 33-year-old woman from Queens.

Amelia Laguerre, of St. Albans, was shot "in excess of five" times by someone who was waiting for her in the parking garage of a company medical building in North New Hyde Park where she and other employees were taking a break, according to Nassau police Det. Capt. Stephen Fitzpatrick. She had worked at Northwell Health for 10 years.

The shooter was still at large, Fitzpatrick said at a news briefing Friday afternoon at police headquarters in Mineola.

“We believe based on the crime scene, evidence at the scene and initial witness accounts, this is a targeted incident and there’s no risk to the public,” Fitzpatrick said.

When asked if the shooter may have been an ex-boyfriend, Fitzpatrick said police were “looking at that and other areas. But when we say targeted, we believe it’s someone she knows.”

There are no records of domestic violence or orders of protection related to Laguerre, police said.

At Laguerre's home in Queens, her mother, Emily Laguerre Bennett, said she was “very heartbroken” at the news, and that the shooter “took away my child, and took away the mother of her child.” Laguerre was mother to a 6-year-old son, Laguerre Bennett said.

“I’m still in disbelief. It hasn’t hit me yet," said Laguerre Bennett, who lives in New Jersey. "I’m saying, ‘My baby’s still here, she’s not gone,' but realizing she is gone. And I can’t understand the reason why. I can’t understand.” 

Earlier Thursday, others observed Laguerre “in what people would describe as an argument,” according to Fitzpatrick. It was not clear whether that argument was on the phone.

On Thursday, Nassau police said, officers responded to calls for shots fired in the parking garage at 4:10 p.m. When they arrived, they found Laguerre with "multiple" gunshot wounds, police said.

In a Thursday night memo to staff members, Northwell Health officials said: "We are writing to share the tragic news that a Northwell team member was a victim of gun violence during an apparent domestic incident late this afternoon in the publicly accessible parking garage at 1999 Marcus Ave. in New Hyde Park where Northwell Health is a tenant."

"We have already deployed representatives from our Employee and Family Assistance Program, chaplaincy, and behavioral health to support Northwell team members at this location during this terribly difficult time," said the memo from Northwell officials Maxine Carrington, senior vice president and chief people officer, and Scott Strauss, vice president, security and support systems.

The location of the shooting includes a Northwell Health building housing doctors' offices and specialty medical practices, according to a news release by the New Hyde Park-based hospital.

“Several team members rendered aid at the scene and the victim was transported to an area hospital and pronounced dead,” the release said.

Police ask anyone with information about the shooting, Laguerre or her relationships to contact the Nassau Homicide Squad or Nassau County Crime Stoppers at 800-244-TIPS. All callers will remain anonymous.

When asked how she wanted people to remember her daughter, Laguerre Bennett said, “she’s a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful person. Loving, she’s kind, she would help anybody in the world. If you needed a ride, ‘I got you,’ anything she would do for you. She would really go out of her way.” 

With Cecilia Dowd and Keldy Ortiz