From the archives: Train Terror: Gunman opens fire on LIRR, killing 4, injuring 13

This story was originally published in Newsday on Dec. 8, 1993.

A gunman armed with a rapid-fire pistol turned a rush-hour Long Island Rail Road car into a slaughterhouse last night, shooting and killing homeward-bound commuters until he was subdued by passengers as he reloaded his weapon.

At least four people died and 13 others were shot, at least three critically, in the outburst that took place aboard the Hicksville-bound train as it neared the Merillon Avenue station in Garden City shortly after 6:10 p.m.

Passengers described horror and pandemonium.

"All of sudden I heard popping," said Esther Confino of New Hyde Park, a passenger in the car. "I got down as low as I could and covered my head with my handbag and carryall and I just prayed. It was so close and so loud."

Another passenger, Diane McCleary of Garden City, said, "The guy just went berserk. The shots just kept coming off and he wouldn't stop . . . The door wouldn't open . . . There were bodies all over. People shot in the head. It was disgusting . . . The girl next to my father was blown away."

The station quickly took on the look of a war zone as medical crews set up triage stations to sort the wounded and dispatch them to several local hospitals.

The dead were initially passed by in favor of those who could be saved, a railroad official said. "The people there was no hope for, they covered right there," said the official, who declined to be identified.

The bodies of the four victims who were dead at the scene, three men shot in their seats and a woman who died in the doorway of the car, remained on the train several hours after the shootings. The train had left Penn Station at 5:33 p.m.

The suspect, who was not immediately identified, was taken into custody. One eyewitness said the man appeared calm as he sat in the back of a police car. Police said that the man appeared to be a New York City resident, based on his identification and a preliminary interview with him.

Police and eyewitnesses said the man, who held a ticket to Hicksville, had shown no signs of his intentions. It was unclear where he boarded the train - either at Penn Station or Jamaica. He sat quietly in his seat until he pulled out the 9mm semiautomatic pistol.

"He was walking indiscriminately through the car and started shooting," said Nassau Police Chief Mel Kenny. "It appears to be random." It was not immediately known if he said anything during the spree. He didn't say anything before he started shooting.

He said that the gunman was walking backward as he fired, and that the passengers who subdued him apparently jumped him from behind. It was likely that the shooter went through two clips of ammunition during the sprees. Each clip held as many as 15 rounds, he said.

"A great many shots were probably fired," he said.

Commuters attempted to flee into other cars as the gunshots rang out, and dead and injured riders slumped in their seats. The conductor was alerted to the shootings and called police as the train pulled into the station.

One of the injured, Maryann Phillips, 39, was sitting next to the gunman, according to Dr. Dan Reiner, chief of the trauma service at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset. "She said he stood up, turned and fired. She said she laid down and pretended she was dead," Phillips said.

Besides those shot, about four other people were injured in the incident, Kenny said.

Paul Basile, 26, of Garden City, was standing in the third car, waiting to get out. "We started hearing pops - pop, pop, pop - then it stopped, then it started again, pop, pop pop," Basile said.

"It was mass hysteria," he said. "I was trying to get out of the train doors, and it wouldn't open. A man who was shot was next to me. I grabbed this guy. I don't know how I got him off the train."

Kevin McHugh of New Hyde Park said he was waiting to get off the train when the shooting erupted about six feet from him. "I didn't hear him say anything," McHugh said, adding that his main thought was, "I can't believe I was going to die on the train."

Jerry Rubin of Mineola said he was in the fifth car of the train when the shooting began. "When the train pulled into the station, it was like an avalanche. People were running and screaming, 'Someone is shooting.' No one believed them. The conductor came over and said, 'Don't open any doors.' "

Rubin added, "Nobody realized what the hell was going on until they started bringing out the bodies. It was like a slaughterhouse."

Shortly after the shooting, a bloodied train passenger ran into the 7-Eleven near the station, and the store's owner, Bob Montgomery, saw other passengers tackle the gunman as police arrived.

"The train pulled in and a guy came running over into the store, full of blood on his hands, and said, 'Call 911,' " said Montgomery, whose Atlantic Avenue store is about 20 feet from the station. "The police was here in seconds."

The killings ended as three men on the train subdued the gunman as he reloaded his weapon, Kenny said. An off-duty Long Island Rail Road police officer, who was waiting to pick up his wife at the station, arrested the suspect. The suspect was taken to the Nassau County police precinct in Mineola, police said.

The first call to the Nassau County Police Department came in at 6:21 p.m., according to Gary Ruff, commanding officer of Nassau's emergency ambulance bureau. By 7:07 p.m., police and volunteer ambulances had taken all of the victims to hospitals.

Most of the victims suffered multiple gunshot wounds. One victim was a pregnant woman.

An official at the Nassau County Medical Center said that one of the victims, a woman, was in critical condition and on life support. Another victim was a man with chest and arm wounds.

Five gunshot victims were taken to Winthrop University Hospital in Mineola for treatment, said hospital spokesman John Broder. Two of the wounded were women and three were men, Broder said.

Peggy Richards of Westbury said she walked by the third car after the train pulled into the station. "I saw three men slumped over, all shot in the head. Next to them was a girl; she was shot. Underneath there was a woman slumped on the floor, shot.

There was one lady screaming. Another man and I helped her out."

As she left, Richards said, she saw the suspect in a police car. "He was just sitting there. He seemed calm and cool, emotionless."

The conductor aboard the train said that he was collecting tickets in the third car when he came across the man, according to the railroad official. The suspect had a ticket good for off-peak hours and had to pay an additional fare because it was rush hour.

"The conductor collected his fare - no problem - and then the conductor went into the compartment to call out the next station," the official said. "All of a sudden, gunfire rang out and pandemonium broke out. People scattered for cover. They ran from one end of the car to another. He walked through the aisle shooting people at random. I've been on the railfroad for 23 years, and I've never seen anthing like this."

Two hours after the shooting, police remained in the train, gathering evidence. There was blood smeared on a rear window of the car, and there was more blood on a vinyl wall in the middle of the car.

Sam Zambuto, an LIRR spokesman, said the police investigation closed one of the two tracks running through Garden City, and there were one-hour delays for a time last night both eastbound and westbound on the railroad's main line affecting trains to Port Jefferson, Ronkonkoma and Oyster Bay.

He said LIRR officials would review the incident to determine whether to make any changes in security measures.

"It is a very isolated and very unusual incident. We're going to have to see what we find out in our review," he said.
For those who survived the massacre, there was terrible emotion. Desiree Laudman of Garden City South rushed to the station, concerned about her brother, John Laudman, who always rides the 5:33.

"He's always at home at this time. This is the train he takes," she was sobbing in the home of Kathleen Auro, who lives near the station. Her mother, Jean Laudman, arrived, also sobbing. Shortly afterward, they heard that John Laudman was safe. Yet Jean Laudman still sobbed.

Susanne Blum of Garden City said that her husband, Kevin, was one of the three men who tackled the suspect. She said found her husband at the station and he said, "It's a mess here. Someone has a gun."

"This is Christmas," Susanne Blum said, wondering at the horror. "What kind of thing is this to do on Christmas?"
Shooting Victims

Twenty-two people were taken to hospitals, including four who were pronounced dead on arrival. Three of the dead were adult males, one was an adult female. Three of the injured were in very critical condition last night. Following is a breakdown of those who were treated at hospitals:

Helen Alexandersen, approximately 30 years old, of Franklin Square.

John Apsel, age and hometown unavailable.

Elizabeth Azelie, in her 20s, hometown unavailable.

Frank Barker, age and hometown unavailable.

Alfred Casazza, 60, of Westbury.

Lisa Combatti, seven months pregnant, age and hometown unavailable.

Amy Federici, age and hometown unavailable.

John Forni, 35, age and hometown unavailable.

Robert Giuliano, 38, of Franklin Square.

Jill Mitchel, age and hometown unavailable.

Kevin McCarthy, age and hometown unavailable.

Thomas McDermott, 50, of Garden City.

Jeanne Norton, 24, of Garden City.

Maryann Phillips, 39, hometown unavailable.

Minoru Saito, 61, of Garden City.

Debbie Webber, in late 30s. Hometown unavailable.

Two other unidentified wounded were transported to Nassau County Medical Center.

The 9-mm
How it Works: a semiautomatic pistol employs a magazine that feeds
shells automatically into the breech.
Cost: $400-$500
Magazine: 10-17 shots
Barrel: 4-5 inches
Weight: 30 oz.
Length: 7.5. inches

Contributing to this story were: Sylvia Adcock, James Bernstein, Rebecca Blumenstein, Rick Brand, Joe Calderone, Tom Demoretcky, Maureen Fan, Dan Fagin, Susan Forrest, Alexander C. Kafka, Wendy Lin, Alfred Lubrano, John McDonald, Bill Mason, Phil Mintz, Shirley E. Perlman, Liam Pleven, Jim Puzzanghera, Yolanda RodriVguez, Andrew Smith, Estelle Lander Smith, Otto Strong, Curtis L. Taylor, Beth Whitehouse, Kinsey Wilson, Olivia Winslow, Ellen Yan and Gwen Young.