A former Suffolk County sheriff’s officer shot a woman in the family’s Long Island home, then forced cops to use an armored vehicle to crash through the front door to get inside, where they found him dead.
Gerard Senatore, a 66-year-old grandfather from the tiny North Shore hamlet of Ridge, put a bullet in his unidentified 68-year-old victim at the large, well-kept Woodbrook Drive house just before 1 p.m. Saturday, Newsday reported.
Suffolk cops found the seriously injured woman when they arrived at the home after a 911 call and had her airlifted to the hospital, the outlet said.
Meanwhile, the armed Senatore — who, according to his LinkedIn profile, worked as a correction officer with the sheriff’s office until about 2014 — locked himself inside and blew off cops’ attempts to force him out.
County and state police quickly descended on the quiet neighborhood, with residents hiding behind their front doors as cops tried to talk the former officer into leaving his makeshift fortress, which had children’s plastic playsets in its back yard.
“[Jerry], this is the Suffolk County Police Department. We need to speak with you. Please come outside,” a negotiator called to Senatore for more than an hour — as other cops crouched behind their cruisers, Newsday said.
Authorities lost their patience around 3:30 p.m. and sent some kind of armored vehicle crashing through the front door, the outlet said.
Cops quickly followed but found Senatore — who neighbors said had two adult kids — had already fatally shot himself.
The violence stunned neighbors, several of whom said they’d known the family for years and never witnessed any issues between them.
Local Justin Taco, 17, said the violence terrified him.
“We heard the shot — just one shot,” he said. “It was really loud. And there were a lot of cops, the whole block was covered. … They told us, ‘Stay in! Stay in!’ They kept us like that for three and a half hours.”
On Monday, a professional cleanup crew with the slogan “Like it never happened” emblazoned on its trucks worked to tidy up the house — including the front foyer, which was covered in broken glass.
Another neighbor across the street — a 34-year-old man who grew up on the block — said he’s still in shock.
“This is something you see in the news, not on your block,” he said. “Certainly not around here. It’s a shame.”
“I didn’t see anything like this ever coming from them,” he continued. “I don’t understand.”
If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis and live in New York City, you can call 1-888-NYC-WELL for free and confidential crisis counseling. If you live outside the five boroughs, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.
