Officials: Troopers shoot suspect who pointed rifle at them near Commack

New York State troopers shot and wounded a male driver Wednesday afternoon on the Northern State Parkway near Commack after he got out of his vehicle following a short pursuit and pointed a rifle at them, officials said.

The identity of the motorist was not released by New York State police in a statement late Wednesday night about the shooting.

 Authorities said he was airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital but they did not know his condition or what charge he could face.

The shooting occurred shortly after 3 p.m. and prompted the closure of the Northern State Parkway in both directions at the Sagtikos State Parkway for about six hours, said Trooper Daniel Ahlgrim, a State police spokesman.

Troopers were first alerted at 2:20 p.m. Wednesday to a call in Nassau County for “a person with a weapon driving a white Mercedes SUV on the Meadowbrook Parkway,” officials said.

Less than an hour later, a trooper on the Northern State Parkway, near exit 42 in Commack, saw the suspect's Mercedes speed by and a brief pursuit ensued, officials said,

"After a short distance, the operator stopped in the roadway and then exited the vehicle with the rifle pointing it in the direction of the responding troopers,” State police said. “The operator was shot by the troopers and was taken into custody.”

Ahlgrim said late Wednesday it remained under investigation how many troopers shot the suspect.

No troopers were injured, State police said.

On duty-shootings involving State troopers on Long Island seldom occur but there have been similar incidents in the past.

In August 2010, a trooper shot a Bay Shore man after he fled a traffic stop on the Robert Moses Causeway in Islip. Officials said the suspect attacked the trooper and later jumped a motorcyclist to try and steal the bike.

Police said the trooper in the Bay Shore shooting was patrolling for speeders when he saw a Hyundai Sonata traveling at a high rate of speed. The trooper tried to pull over the driver, who did not stop. After a pursuit that ended in Bay Shore when the Sonata got a flat tire, the driver exited and attacked the trooper. After drawing his weapon, the trooper shot the suspect in the shoulder, authorities said.

In September 2009, a trooper shot a man to death following a violent altercation on the Robert Moses Causeway, police said. The trooper, based at the Brentwood State Police barracks, pursued the suspect during a high-speed chase that ended on Captree Island, police said.

The suspect grabbed the trooper’s baton after a physical altercation and hit him in the head with it, State police said. The trooper then fired one round from his Glock .45 caliber handgun, killing the suspect, police said.