Jayvon Bell of North Amityville shot by police after he shot at them, Suffolk Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison says

Suffolk County police shot and wounded a North Amityville man wanted on robbery and gun charges Wednesday morning after the suspect allegedly opened fire on police, Suffolk Police Commissioner Rodney K. Harrison said.

The incident began around 11:45 a.m. Wednesday when two officers from the First Precinct, who were transporting a prisoner back to the station house, spotted Jayvon Bell, 21, of North Amityville, Harrison said at an afternoon news conference near the shooting scene.

Bell, who is a suspect in a robbery and menacing with a firearm, was first located at Route 109 and Albany Avenue in East Farmingdale, Harrison said. 

The officers searched the area where Bell was seen Wednesday while two other officers, assigned to the Precinct Crime Section, responded to the location and found Bell, who allegedly jumped a fence at 62 Maple Rd., Harrison said.

The Crime Section officers pursued Bell, who allegedly pulled out a black gun and fired one round at the officers in the backyard of the Maple Road home, Harrison said.

An officer returned fire several times, Harrison said, striking Bell on the right side of his body.

Police arrested Bell, who was taken by medevac helicopter to Stony Brook University Hospital where he was undergoing surgery for wounds to his torso. He was being treated for non-life-threatening injuries, Harrison said.

The two officers were taken to a hospital where they are being treated for tinnitus, ringing of the ears, he said.

Bell is a suspect in a May 10 taxicab robbery and a menacing incident on June 3 with a firearm, both in Amityville, he said.

It’s not clear if the gun Bell reportedly used in the shooting was the same one involved in the menacing investigation.

"It's still a preliminary investigation," he said.

Karina Singh, a self-described anti-gun-violence advocate who lives less than a block from the shooting, said she and her grandson were outside in the yard when she heard gunshots.

“I locked the back gate. I told my grandson to go to the basement and I locked all the doors,” she said. “We didn’t know who was running through here and [my grandson] could get killed or hurt.”

Singh said she and her husband patrol the area at night to ensure the safety of the community,

“I’ve worked to stop the violence for years,” Singh said. “Today came close to my home. Too close to my home.”

Marlene Mason, 67, has lived in the neighborhood for more than five decades and said the shooting was out of the norm.

"I've raised my kids here," Mason said. "This is not the type of neighborhood where I'm afraid to have my kids and grandkids outside."

The site of the reported shooting is only a few hundred feet from a sign reading, "Stop the violence and show some love."