NY: shooting gunman shot and killed by police after opening fire on former Jewish employers

Three people were shot, including the gunman who opened fire on his former Staten Island employers, in a quiet neighborhood Tuesday.




 

Man Kills Ex-Boss, Dies in NYPD Confrontation on Staten Island: MyFoxNY.com

A disgruntled man burst into his former business partners' Staten Island home, killing one and wounding another before cops shot him to death.

The 48-year-old man rang the doorbell before being let into the married couple's Huguenot home on Collyer Ave. about 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, police said. Once inside the kitchen, he pulled out a .25-caliber pistol and opened fire, police said.

"He comes in and he shoots her in the abdomen," said Paul Browne, chief spokesman for the NYPD. "He shoots the husband in the head."

The couple own a small internet company and the gunman was a partner in the business, police said.

The husband, Semyon Levin, 52, lay on the floor near the refrigerator after he was shot.

Marina Tartakovskaya, 45, was able to crawl to a side door, which opened to her driveway, police and relatives said.

A couple walking a dog were outside when she emerged near the driveway and the wounded woman told them to call 911, police said.

"As she does that, the perp comes out," Browne said. "He puts the gun to head of [the man walking the dog]."

The gunman squeezed the trigger twice, but the gun jammed, police said. The enraged man sprinted back into the house and to a bedroom in the basement.

Police soon arrived and found the man hiding in the closet with a gun to his head, police said. As they backed away, a sudden gunshot came from the downstairs room.

Thinking he shot himself, officers moved in the room - but found the man conscious and pointing a gun at them, police said.

Police fired several rounds at the man after he refused orders to drop the gun, cops said. It was not clear how many times, or where, he was hit.

Both the husband and wife, who have five children, were taken to Staten Island University North Hospital, cops and relatives said.

Levin later died. Tartakovskaya was in critical condition.

"She's alive and fighting for her life," said the woman's cousin, who did not want to give his name.

"They are good people and they were shot," said another cousin. "There is no reason for this. It's senseless."