Teen victim ID'd in shooting outside Hempstead McDonald's
According to Hempstead officials a 19-year-old was killed in the parking lot of a Hempstead McDonald’s on Wednesday. Credit: Jim Staubitser
Nassau County police have publicly identified the teenager shot dead Wednesday outside a busy Hempstead Village McDonald's.
Hector Manuel Valencia Gomez, 19, of Hempstead, was killed in a hail of eight bullets during the afternoon shooting, police said on Friday.
Authorities previously said the teen, who graduated last year from Hempstead High School, was targeted in the attack but have not provided any additional details.
A suspect in the shooting has yet to be publicly identified.
Efforts to reach Valencia Gomez's family Friday were unsuccessful.
Police responding to a 3:48 p.m. report of shots fired at the Peninsula Boulevard McDonald's on Wednesday found the teen with multiple gunshot wounds, said Det. Lt. Richard LeBrun, a spokesman for the Nassau County Police Department. Medical personnel pronounced the man dead at the scene six minutes later.
No one else was injured in the shooting.
Hempstead Village police said its ShotSpotter system tracked as many as eight shots fired during the incident.
A police officer stationed outside the restaurant Wednesday for the usual after-school crowd had responded to another call moments before the fatal shooting, law enforcement officials said Thursday.
Hempstead Village Police Chief Paul Johnson said that on a typical afternoon, as many as half a dozen village police officers might be assigned to patrol outside the McDonald's.
The fast-food restaurant is an after-school favorite for students from Hempstead High School and other campuses in the vicinity. The scene is less than a mile from Hempstead High.
The victim was "absolutely" targeted, Nassau Homicide Commanding Officer Det. Capt. Stephen Fitzpatrick said Wednesday at the scene.
Hempstead school board members, at a news conference Thursday, said some students witnessed the shooting and that counseling was being provided.
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact Nassau County Crime Stoppers at 800-244-8477. All calls will remain anonymous and a $5,000 reward is available for information leading to an arrest.
Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.
