Clifton Dent fired handgun at United Veterans Beacon House office, security guard in Bay Shore, Suffolk police say
A resident of a Bay Shore residence for U.S. military veterans was arrested Wednesday night after police said he fired a handgun through an office door, then fired "multiple times" at a security guard in an adjacent parking lot, following an earlier "verbal dispute" at the site.
Suffolk County police said Clifton Dent, 28, was arrested in the parking lot of a 7-Eleven on Union Boulevard in Bay Shore at 9:42 p.m. and charged with first-degree reckless endangerment and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. He was held overnight at the Third Precinct and now faces arraignment Thursday in First District Court in Central Islip.
The nature of the verbal altercation was not immediately clear.
But, police said that following that dispute at the United Veterans Beacon House on East Main Street, Dent, a resident of the home for military veterans, attempted to enter the office at 9:10 p.m. and then "fired a handgun through the office door." Police said Dent then left the building and fired multiple rounds at a security guard for the building, who was in the nearby lot.
No one was injured in the incident, police said.
It was not clear if Dent is represented by counsel.
Calls to the United Veterans Beacon House were not immediately answered Thursday.
According to its website, United Veterans Beacon House was founded in 1994 and has helped more than 25,000 veterans and veteran families during that time, providing housing to homeless veterans, operating 49 residences throughout Long Island. The Bay Shore site is a 100-year-old Victorian home that serves as a residence for 13 veterans, United Veterans Beacon House said.
John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”
Updated now Newsday travel writer Scott Vogel took the ferry over to Block Island for a weekend of fun.
Updated now Newsday travel writer Scott Vogel took the ferry over to Block Island for a weekend of fun.
