Long Island

20-Year-Old LIRR Rider Shot to Death on Train: Police

According to police, the victim and the gunman knew each other

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What to Know

  • Authorities are investigating the deadly shooting of a man at a Long Island Railroad train station early Wednesday.
  • Twenty-year-old Yusef Staine was shot by a man he appeared to be traveling with while he was on board a westbound train parked at the Ronkonkoma Long Island Rail Road Station around 1:45 a.m.
  • The alleged gunman fled the scene following the shooting. Police say the victim and the shooter were traveling together and knew each other.

Authorities are investigating the deadly shooting of a man at a Long Island Railroad train station early Wednesday morning.

Twenty-year-old Yusef Staine was shot by a man he appeared to be traveling with while he was on board a westbound train parked at the Ronkonkoma Long Island Rail Road Station around 1:45 a.m. It had been set to depart to New York Penn Station, according to Suffolk County Police.

The alleged gunman fled the scene following the shooting.

"The shooter and the victim appeared to have been traveling together and they appeared to have known each other," Kevin Beyrer, of the Suffolk County Police Homicide Squad, said.

Staine, of West Babylon, was pronounced dead at the scene.

A cab driver told News 4 New York that a dispatcher heard the shots and called 911.

The shooting appears to be an isolated incident and no one else was injured, according to police.

"I'd like to stress that this is not a random event. No other passengers were in danger. There were only two or three passengers on the train at the time, they were not in danger. This appears to be an isolated event," Beyrer said.

The police response to the scene was massive with emergency services, aviation, and K-9 units responding.

Authorities ask anyone with information to call the Homicide Squad at 631-852-6392 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS.

The investigation by Suffolk County Police Homicide Squad and Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police Department is ongoing.

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