Cops: 2 arrested after shooting into house

Two Hempstead men were arrested after firing a round from a sawed-off rifle into a house on Maple Avenue Sunday night in Hempstead, Nassau County police said.

David Benjamin, 19, and Shaquille Little, 17, face charges of weapons possession and reckless endangerment after their arrest near Grove Street and South Franklin Avenue about 11:10 p.m., Third Squad detectives said.

Two people were inside the home at the time the shot was fired, but there were no injuries, police said Monday.

Detectives said a witness heard the sound of gunshot and saw the two men walking away from the house. The witness followed the two and confronted them near Grove and South Franklin, police said.

Hempstead police investigated and said the two men had fired a shot from a .22 caliber rifle -- a Springfield model with a sawed-off barrel -- into the Maple Avenue residence. Police did not specify where the bullet hit the house.

Police found the rifle outside a home on Grove Street.

At arraignment Monday, bail was set at $50,000 bond or $25,000 cash for Benjamin, of 32 Moore Ave., and at $15,000 bond or $7,500 cash for Little, of 150 Willow Ave.

With Ellen Yan