A Hofstra University student who died during a confrontation between a home invasion suspect and authorities was killed by police gunfire, a Nassau County, New York, police spokeswoman said Saturday.
Police fired eight shots at the intruder, who authorities say was holding a gun to the head of Andrea Rebello, 21, during a home invasion robbery Friday at an off-campus house in Uniondale.
One of the shots hit Rebello in the head, killing her, police spokeswoman Maureen Roach said.
Also killed was the intruder, whom authorities identified as Dalton Smith, 30, of Hempstead. He was struck seven times.
Authorities say Smith was wearing a mask. He invaded the home Rebello shared with her twin sister and two others during the predawn hours on Friday.
At some point, a female roommate of the twins was able to leave the home and call police, a police spokesman told CNN on Friday.
When a police officer arrived, Smith was holding a gun to Rebello's head, Roach said.
He told the officer he was going to kill Rebello, and then turned the handgun toward the officer, she said.
The officer, fearing for his life, drew his gun and fired, Roach said.
Authorities have not identified the officer.
At the time of the shooting, Smith was wanted for jumping parole, police said.
He was on parole for first-degree robbery and had an "extensive" arrest history that includes robbery, assault, and promoting prison contraband, said police in Nassau County.
A warrant for his arrest was issued April 25 for allegedly absconding from parole, police said
Rebello's high school principal, Carol Conklin-Spillane, said the twins' home community in Westchester, New York, was heartbroken.
She described Rebello as a fun-loving, personable and self-aware young woman.
Her parents, Fernando and Nella Rebello, are closely tied to the Portuguese community, and always worked to create opportunities for their children, Conklin-Spillane said.
Rebello, a junior, was majoring in public relations.
Hofstra University said it is offering counseling to students.
"Our hearts and minds and our thoughts and prayers are with her family, her friends and her classmates," the university said in a statement.
A funeral mass is planned for Wednesday.
Isn't this the kind of situation that swat teams are supposed to handle? What did a lone cop think he was going to do against a gunman with "human shields"?
ReplyDeleteIf this cop - who was incompetent/poorly trained/ cowardly, or some combination thereof, is not held accountable, then why do we need cops in the first place?
From now on, wherever there's a hostage situation, why not just send in a drone and fire a missile at the hostage taker. This way, the dead hostages are merely some unfortunate "collateral damage". The outcome will be the same, yes, but at least the taxpayers can save money on the salaries of unnecessary cops.
Educate yourself.
DeleteAnd don't make assumptions. You were not there, and chances are (I'm going to assume) you've never been in the situations that the police officer has been in.
Harold, You have obvious deficiencies in your ability to think and clearly cannot grasp a situation outside of your immediate level of experience.
DeleteGood advice, Harold.
Delete-tkbk-
To Protect and to Serve. A great motto for police who protect themselves and serve their crony masters. I note the officer was not injured. I wonder if the seven wounds incurred by the criminal first went through the young lady. There is no report the criminal fired his weapon. The officer was the assailant.
ReplyDeleteLesson to all. Protect yourself and NEVER call the police unless you want to be a victim.
That's a bit extreme. I love the internet, let's me laugh at extreme conspiracy theorists like you. "I'm a pawn in a global scheme!" Oh nooooo!
Deletefucking coward pigs
ReplyDeleteWell, hey. The police shot the criminal seven times out of eight, and shot the innocent bystander only one time out of eight. So MOST of the bullets hit the right person. That's pretty good for police work these days. Sometimes most of the bullets hit all of the wrong people.
ReplyDeleteThe hands of thier masters
ReplyDeleteThe Hand of The King, a terrible title indeed. No one seems to last long in the role.
DeleteTo the idiots above:
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame that a beautiful innocent young woman was killed! But she wasn't killed because a police officer just decided to shoot an innocent girl that day. She was killed because some piece of sh*t thug invaded her home. None of this would have happened had this thug been working at a job to make a living instead of terrorizing and stealing from innocent people.
You that have commented above, just as I, don't know all of the facts and have never been in that type of situation to know how we would respond. Did he or she follow protocol... maybe not, but again, we don't know how the events transpired. We don't know what information the police had or didn't have prior to responding to the 911 call.
The officer will have to live with the guilt of her death the rest of his or her life.
Police officers risk their lives every day protecting me and my family as well as you and your family. I hope you are never in a situation to where you need their help, but no matter how wrong and screwed up your opinion of them is, they will be their risking their lives trying to save yours.
God bless this girl's family and the officer that was involved!
The officer did not shoot at the suspect when the girl's life only was in danger but shot when his own life was in danger. Funny how that works.
ReplyDelete"Everybody has to die except me so I'll squint real hard & keep firing" ~ Kop
ReplyDelete-tkbk-
Harold you are correct, that cop is a coward. Since time it was always said that women and children should always be protected first. How was that cops life more important than that girl's. Why did he have to fire 8 shots. He should be ashamed of himself.
ReplyDelete