Bike-riding gunmen sought in Hempstead shooting, cops say

Police are searching for bike-riding gunmen who opened fire on a man on a street in Hempstead late Wednesday night, shooting him in the leg before fleeing.

The shooting took place at 9:52 p.m. near Elm and Laurel avenues, Nassau County police said.

Police did not release the identity of the victim, other than to describe him as a 19-year-old man.

But a source said the same man was shot in both legs on March 9 while he was sitting in a car in the village. Investigators received information that gang members had met earlier Wednesday night to discuss retaliation against the man, but the nature of the dispute was not clear, the source said.

In Wednesday’s shooting, police said, the victim was standing at the corner when the two assailants “approached on bicycles armed with a handgun and fired upon the victim.”

Hempstead Village police said four shots were fired and that the victim was taken to Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow.

Nassau police said the victim was being treated for a “non-life-threatening” wound.

Anyone with information about the shooting or the shooters is asked to call Nassau Crime Stoppers at 800-244-8477. All calls will be kept confidential.

— With Ellen Yan

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

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.”