Cameron: Separate shootings of 7 in Suffolk may be linked, gang-related

Two separate Suffolk shootings Sunday night that injured seven people were most likely gang-related and possibly linked, Suffolk acting Police Commissioner Stuart Cameron said Monday.

Four shooting victims, including a 19-year-old woman, two 22-year-old men, and a 23-year-old man, were hit after gunfire rang out at 8:30 p.m. Sunday in Bay Shore on the basketball courts at the marina, police said.

At about 12:30 a.m. Monday in Huntington Station, according to police, three men were shot in a drive-by shooting outside a residence on 11th Avenue. Two of the victims were 22, while the other was 23.

"We believe both of these shootings could possibly be related," Cameron said during a news conference in Yaphank. "We are not certain at this time but it is something we are investigating."

All of the victims in the two shootings were taken to local hospitals with what police called non-life-threatening injuries.

"We believe the victims were targeted," Cameron said. "We believe the shootings may likely be gang-related."

Cameron declined to identify the gang or gangs that may have been involved in the shootings or what has led investigators to suspect there could be a link.

In the Bay Shore shooting, police said, several people were near the marina basketball courts on South Clinton Avenue when gunshots were fired in their direction from outside the park. The four victims, each hit by one bullet, had gone to South Shore University Hospital by the time police arrived at the scene, authorities said.

"It was a very nice day yesterday and I am sure the Bay Shore marina was crowded," Cameron said. "That is definitely concerning to me. There were probably families down there in the general area when the shootings occurred. That is not lost on me at all."

Bay Shore resident Penelope Wood said this is the first time she has heard about a shooting in the 50 years she has lived in the area.

"I think it is time to improve gun control," Wood said. "Take all the guns away."

In the Huntington Station shootings, police said gunshots were fired from a passing motor vehicle at a small group of people gathered in front of a residence on 11th Avenue, between West 11th Street and Norden Lane. The three victims went to Huntington Hospital before police arrived at the scene of the shooting.

Huntington Station residents said they were not surprised by the violence because shootings and other crimes are regular occurrences in the area.

"We are all human beings," said resident Robin Batista. "We should live together and love each other."

The investigations into the shootings are a high priority for the department, according to Cameron. Shootings are down slightly in the county compared to this time last year, he said.

Fifteen shootings with 20 victims have been reported in Suffolk since the beginning of the year, including the seven people injured Sunday and Monday, the acting police commissioner said. Seventeen shootings with 22 victims were reported during the same period in 2020, Cameron said.

"It is not as if currently within Suffolk County that we are seeing some of the increases in shootings that we are seeing in other municipalities across the country," Cameron said.

Police ask anyone with information on the Bay Shore shootings to contact Third Squad detectives at 631-854-8352. Anyone with information about the Huntington Station shootings should contact Second Squad detectives at 631-854-8252.

Tipsters can also contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS with information regarding either case.

All calls will remain anonymous.

With Cecilia Dowd and John Valenti