A 31-year-old woman was found dead of a gunshot wound to the head after calling 911 from a Queens apartment early Friday.
What to Know
- A 31-year-old woman was found dead of a gunshot wound to the head after calling 911 from a Queens apartment early Friday
- Her boyfriend, an off-duty Yonkers officer, was discovered badly wounded; a man thought to be the woman's ex was found dead, a gun nearby
- Cops responded to calls earlier this week about a keyed car situation in the same area that involved all three people; the probe is ongoing
A 31-year-old woman who called 911 desperate for help was found dead of a gunshot wound to the head, her boyfriend, a 43-year-old off-duty Yonkers cop badly wounded in a Queens apartment early Friday, authorities say.
A 47-year-old man thought to be an ex-boyfriend, Nelson Giron, was also found dead in the second-floor apartment on 77th Street, near the Ditmas-East Elmhurst border, before 7 a.m. A firearm that belonged to the off-duty officer, who owns several weapons, according to police, was found near Giron's body.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea said the woman, identified as Regan Smith, screamed to the 911 dispatcher, "I've been shot by my boyfriend!" then the call dropped. The line was left open though, and Shea said 911 dispatchers could hear loud noises.
Responding officers walked up to the apartment door and found it locked. They could hear what appears to have been up to 10 shots, Shea said -- and secured the perimeter as they called for backup and emergency services.
Once police got inside, they found Smith dead of at least one gunshot wound to the head. The Yonkers officer, a five-year veteran of the force, had a gunshot wound to the shoulder and two additional wounds to the back, though Shea said it wasn't clear if those were stab wounds or gunshot wounds. The cop was undergoing surgery Friday and was expected to live.
According to Shea, both men and the woman may have served in different branches of the military, though it's not clear if they knew each other from their service. The backstory of the relationship wasn't clear, but Shea said Friday wasn't the first time cops were called -- police responded to several calls in the vicinity on Monday about a keyed car situation involving all three of them.
Neighbor Carmela Lojudice knew the woman and said she was a "nice, nice person."
"My daughter's crying," said another neighbor, Josephine Cahill. "She has a dog, the owners talked together."
The Yonkers Police Department issued a statement confirming an incident involving an off-duty police officer that has over four years of service.
"The Yonkers Police Department offers its sincere condolences to the families of the victims and their colleagues," the police department said, adding that they are making all their resources available to the NYPD to assist in their investigation of the case.
