By JOSEPH KELLARD
Cesar Ticlayauri of Island Park was shot and killed at the northeast corner of Parma and Sagamore roads at about 12:30 a.m., investigators said. A second man, identified only as a 24-year-old resident of Island Park, was also shot, and was listed in critical condition at an undisclosed hospital, police said.
The shootings followed an altercation that began in the Island Park Ale House, at 140 Long Beach Road, and spilled into the street, ending up at the Parma-Sagamore intersection, a residential area where both men were shot, according to police.
³After the shots were fired, one victim, the deceased, fell to the ground, where he was found by first-responding police officers,² said Nassau County Homicide Detective Michael Fleming hours after the shooting. ³The second victim managed to flee from his attackers. He did manage to make it to his home, and it was from that location where he summoned police and an ambulance was dispatched.²
Fleming declined to identify the murder weapon, and did not say how many shots were fired, but he said that Ticlayauri was hit more than once. A motive for the shootings was not revealed.
The detective said that police received several 911 calls reporting the shootings. ³Probably because of the Fourth of July holiday, people were still up,² Fleming said. ³And we do have several people who heard the arguing out on the street and heard the gunshots being fired.²
Carmen Zapelli, who lives at the Parma-Sagamore intersection, saidone of her sons was in his bedroom when he heard a commotion outside his window. ³He said that they were coming from Long Beach Road, and that he heard somebody say in Spanish, ŒOh, my God,¹² she said. ³And right after that he heard shots and he heard glass breaking.²
Zapelli said that when she looked outside, Ticlayauri was lying face up on the ground near the northeast corner of the intersection. ³He was a young kid,² she said. ³It¹s a shame.²
Her older son ran to the aid of Ticlayauri while waiting for an ambulance to arrive. ³There was a good amount of blood,² he said. ³He looked like he was hit a couple of times in the chest and someone else said once in the head.²
Steve Beery, owner of the Island Park Ale House, said that the bartender who was working that night told him that a group of Hispanic men came into the bar, and were initially cordial with one another before a verbal altercation escalated into a fight. ³The story that I got is that they came in together and were having a good time, and then they started to act up with one another,² Beery explained. ³It was just an argument at first, and then it became a pushing-and-shoving match. So the bartender tossed the whole group. Whatever happened from that point on happened down by [Pop¹s] liquor store [on Long Beach Road].²
Asked what the initial argument was about, Beery said, ³They didn¹t speak our language, so we have no clue.²
A woman who identified herself only as Lucy and whose 64-year-old niece lives at the corner of Sagamore and Parma said of the incident, ³[My niece] was confused because of the fireworks. She looked outside and someone told her, ŒDon¹t worry, I called an ambulance,¹ and she just went back to bed.²
The shooting occurred a block from the home of Antoinette D¹Amato, the mother of former U.S. Sen. Al D¹Amato. ³There was a lot of noise because of the Fourth of July,² she said. ³The police came by the next morning and told us what happened.²
Fleming said police believe there was a second altercation that spanned two or more blocks, and those who were involved moved through the parking lot of the Bank of America, directly across the street from the bar, but no shots were fired there.
Beery, who also owns Mr. Beery¹s in Bethpage and Roadrunners in East Meadow, said that the Hispanic group of men who came in that night were not regulars. ³Generally our clientele is middle-aged white guys from the neighborhood,² said Beery, who has owned his Island Park bar for two years. ³We have a few pockets of Hispanic guys who come in who work with the locals, but that¹s really it.²
Fleming said there was no indication that the incident was gang-related, or that the victims were armed.
Detectives urge anyone with information about the shooting to contact the Nassau County Police Department¹s Crime Stoppers unit at (800) 244-8477. All callers will remain anonymous.
Comments about this story? JKellard@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 287.
