UPDATED: North Bellmore man charged in fight, shooting

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A man has been charged after a fight with a retired law enforcement officer led to a non-fatal shooting on Bellmore Road in North Bellmore Tuesday night.

At a Nassau County Police Department press briefing on Wednesday afternoon, Det. Lt. Richard LeBrun said the defendant, Michael Bua, 47, of 22 Stratford Court, and the victim, 62, were driving northbound on Bellmore Road around 11 p.m. when they engaged in a “verbal dispute.”

LeBrun said that Bua, in a white Hyundai, drove past the victim, in a black SUV, and cut him off near Magnolia Road. Both drivers then exited their vehicles to confront each other, which escalated into a physical altercation.

Bua, wielding a black flashlight, struck the victim on the head “numerous times,” LeBrun said. The victim, acting in self-defense, removed a .38 Chief revolver from a concealed holster and fired a single round, striking Bua in the buttocks.

“When police arrived they did observe the victim bleeding heavily from his head, and they also observed the defendant with a gunshot wound,” LeBrun told reporters. “There’s no indication in the investigation yet that the men knew each other. We’re still looking at video tape and interviewing other witnesses.”

Both men were taken to a local hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries. After an investigation, Bua was placed under arrest and charged with second-degree assault and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon. He will be arraigned after he is discharged from the hospital.

LeBrun could not disclose the victim’s name nor which department he previously worked for, but indicated that his gun was legally registered. As required by NCPD regulations, the victim’s pistol license was suspended and a number of firearms were removed from his home pending the outcome of the investigation.

LeBrun also told reporters that Bua was arrested and charged in 2006 for assaulting a police officer.

NCPD and the Nassau County District Attorney’s office are conducting the ongoing investigation.

More to follow.