Cops: 1 dead in Brentwood double shooting

One man was killed, another critically wounded, in a double shooting Wednesday night in Brentwood just blocks from where a man was killed in a grocery store robbery in September and from where a 13-year-old boy was shot and critically wounded back in June.

Suffolk County police refused to release details of the shooting or provide information about the victims Thursday morning, citing the ongoing investigation. Police did confirm the shooting took place at about 8:15 p.m. in front of 89 Timberline Dr.

The shooting scene is near an indoor soccer facility, KK Athletics Indoor Sports.

Police said both victims were men and said both were transported to local hospitals where one died, while the other remained in the intensive care unit in critical condition.

A source familiar with the investigation told Newsday one victim was taken to Southside Hospital in Bay Shore, the other to Good Samaritan Hospital in West Islip. Police have refused to confirm that information, citing the investigation.

While police have not confirmed details of the shooting, the source told Newsday that at least two men walked up to the victims and opened fire.

One victim was shot at close range in the head, the source said, while the other victim was shot and critically wounded as he attempted to run.

Witnesses said the suspects fled on foot. The source said police investigators believe the suspects may have later jumped into a waiting car.

Police cars had blocked streets near the shooting scene by 10 p.m. and a police helicopter buzzed overhead.

Police said an autopsy will be conducted to determine the cause of death and asked that anyone with information concerning the crime call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS.

Felipe Rodriguez, a manager at KK Athletics Indoor Sports, the indoor soccer field, said he looked outside and saw two people lying on the ground who were taken away by ambulance.

“A guy came inside and told me to call the cops. Somebody got shot,” Rodriguez said through a translator. “They weren’t moving.”

Area residents said the sound of gunfire is another sign of escalating violence in recent years.

The shootings took place near where an employee of a Brentwood grocery store on Timberline Drive, Miguel Peralta, 57, was shot and killed during a robbery in September.

Just blocks away, a 13-year-old boy, Wilson Batista Jr., was shot and critically wounded last June while playing basketball with friends in Timberline Park. That shooting sparked an outcry over gang violence in Brentwood and Central Islip. Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy added patrols in and around Timberline Park and the Islip Town Board approved installation of surveillance cameras.

And in November, Christopher Hamilton, 15, was shot and killed as he stood with friends in front of a house on American Boulevard in Brentwood, a few blocks away from Wednesday night’s shooting.

“It’s kind of getting scary to be here, but it’s my home and my son’s grown up here,” said 30-year resident James Brennesholtz.

He said he arrived home Wednesday night to a note from his 22-year-old son saying his friend was one of the shooting victims.

“This seems to be happening a lot more lately.”

The note from his son said he would be visiting the victim in the hospital.

Another longtime resident said she saw a helicopter hovering overhead at about 9:30 p.m. and the bright, flashing lights of police cars — but she dared not go out to investigate.

“It was flying around and I’ve never seen that before,” said the resident, who did not want to be identified.

She lamented the decline of the area where she has lived for more than 50 years and said she has learned to be extra careful, especially at night.

“I don’t go outside,” she said, “because you never know.”

With Zachary R. Dowdy