Steven Reid of Calverton indicted on attempted murder for July candlelight vigil shooting, DA says
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney at a news conference in Riverhead in September. Credit: James Carbone
A Calverton man has been indicted on charges that he opened fire at a Bellport candlelight vigil in July, wounding two people, authorities said Friday.
Steven Reid, 27, was ordered held without bail by Acting Supreme Court Justice Philip Goglas at his arraignment on two counts of second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault, attempted assault, second-degree assault, two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and first-degree reckless endangerment.
“This defendant allegedly opened fire on an unsuspecting community gathered to mourn the loss of a loved one,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney. “His alleged actions severely injured two individuals and put countless others in harm’s way. He then fled Suffolk County to try to avoid responsibility for these alleged actions. Through the great investigative work of our Suffolk County detectives, prosecutors and investigators, we were able to track him down, apprehend him and bring him back to Suffolk County where he will face these charges.”
Reid’s attorney, Eric Pack, did not respond to a message seeking comment.
Reid was one of more than 100 people who gathered in Bellport on July 6 to celebrate the life of a resident who died in a motorcycle accident days before, prosecutors said. Reid got into a physical altercation with another man who attended the vigil and “pulled out a gun and shot the man at point-blank range in the upper right thigh,” prosecutors said.
The bullet shattered the man’s femur, passed through his leg, and lodged in his right shin, prosecutors said. A tourniquet was placed on the man’s leg and he was rushed to the hospital, where he underwent emergency orthopedic surgery to repair his femur with metal rods and pins, prosecutors said.
Reid then allegedly opened fire on the crowd a second time, shooting one man four times at close range.
That victim was shot in the back, shoulder and both lungs. Reid then allegedly shot twice at a woman, prosecutors said, and then opened fire on another group of people, including one woman and a 9-year-old boy as they were running away.
Reid fled the scene and was arrested Sept. 19 in North Carolina by members of the United States Marshals New York/New Jersey Regional Task Force with the assistance of the Suffolk County Police Department.
Reid was returned to New York on Sept. 26.
Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.
