By Nick Buglione
Third Squad detectives said the woman, whose identity is being withheld, was traveling southbound in her green Toyota on Merrick Avenue at 10:40 p.m. on Saturday, July 6 when she was approached on her driver's side by a gray Ford Expedition.
At that time, an unknown, Hispanic male in the back seat took out a shotgun and fired one shot, hitting the victim's vehicle in the driver-side window. The Expedition then took off, fleeing southbound across Hempstead Turnpike.
The victim, who was unharmed in the shooting, attempted to follow the vehicle to get its license plate number, but a red minivan cut her pursuit short.
"The red minivan was behind the victim's car," said a detective from the Third Squad, adding that the victim was unaware of its presence.
After rear-ending her car, a group of unknown, male Hispanics jumped out of the minivan and, with baseball bats, began bashing the victim's driver-side door.
Police are calling the incident a case of reckless endangerment. They are, however, investigating whether it was a gang-related attack.
"That's an avenue that we're exploring," said the detective. "It may have been gang-related; it may not have been gang-related."
Anyone with information on this incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS. Police said all callers will remain anonymous.
