Two men shot while sitting in car in Uniondale, police say

Homicide detectives are investigating a Uniondale shooting that left two men wounded, one critically, Nassau County police said Thursday.

An unknown male fired multiple shots into a vehicle on Bira Street at Jerusalem Avenue just before 8 p.m. Wednesday, hitting two men inside, police said in a news release Thursday.

The victims, both 24, were taken to a hospital, where one was listed in critical condition and the other in stable condition Thursday, officials said.

Neither victim was identified.

One resident said he and his wife had been back home from Christmas shopping for almost 15 minutes when they heard three loud bangs.

"I thought it was someone banging on my front door," said the resident, who asked that his name not be used for safety reasons. "When I went to the door, I saw what was like about 100 police. They got down here like a jet."

He said he and his wife peeked out the doorway and saw rescuers at a neighbor's driveway taking someone on a stretcher to an ambulance. Jerusalem Avenue, a busy street, was cordoned off in both directions, he said.

The sounds of gunfire have left him and his wife shaken, he said, and they keep thinking about what would have happened had they arrived home a few minutes later. 

"I hope they get the shooter," the resident said. "If they have the guts to shoot somebody out there — there's a lot of people walking out there — that means they don't care."