By Jeff Lipton
Armed with a handgun, a man said to be despondent barricaded himself in his house in Cedarhurst on Friday afternoon and held police at bay for almost 11 hours before surrendering, authorities said.
Police said Aldo Vennari, 59, of 440 5th Avenue, fired five shots from a .38-caliber revolver through the front door and roof of his home, including one shot when police arrived. No one was reported injured, officials said.
After a tense standoff with police that began at 11:55 A.M. October 6, and intense negotiations with a Hostage Negotiating Team by telephone, Mr. Vennari, who had been in his house threatening to kill himself, surrendered at 10:35 P.M.
"They were able to convince him that it was in everybody's best interests for him to come out and surrender, which he did," said Inspector Frank Matzen, commanding officer of the Fourth Precinct. "I'm happy that no one was hurt and that we were able to resolve the situation peacefully."
Officials said that at about 11:45 A.M., the Village of Cedarhurst received a call from a woman in Chicago, who said that she was on the phone with Mr. Vennari in Cedarhurst when she heard a gunshot. "She thought he shot himself, so we called 911," said Cedarhurst Mayor Andrew Parise. "She called us because she thought that we were the village police."
Police said the gunman actually fired two shots at a second-floor, steel-reinforced door. When police arrived, another gunshot was fired out of a second-floor window. But police could not say for sure if the shot was fired at them.
"The woman in Chicago said that he was despondent and that he had fired two shots," said Sergeant George Reiber of the Fourth Precinct. "When we were walking up to the front door, we heard a third shot."
A small army of about 40 police officers, including those heavily armed and wearing helmets and bullet-proof vests, descended on the two-family home at around noon. Police evacuated nearby homes, and children in the Number Five School were herded into the basement, as their parents nervously waited three blocks away behind police lines. A police helicopter circled above, as officers inside tried to get a better vantage point on the gunman. Police also cordoned off the area and did not let anyone within blocks of the home. Police told parents that school officials would not dismiss the children until the siege was over.
Relatives and police tried to call the gunman inside the house, but initially no one answered the phone, which was believed to have been taken off the hook by Mr. Vennari, authorities said. Even though there were no hostages believed held in the house, a Nassau County hostage negotiating team arrived to try to coax Mr. Vennari out. When he refused to respond early on, a robotic camera was brought in to see exactly where in the house he was, police said.
"He has the blinds closed. He could be dead for all we know," Sergeant Reiber said during the second hour of the standoff.
The gunman's wife returned from work and police would not let her inside. She told police that she did not think her husband owned a gun, said Sergeant Reiber.
"I'm very worried," said Trudy Brooks, a parent with a child in the Number Five School. "They're inside and they're all right, I hope."
"As long as he stays in his house," said Joan Kurkomelis, another parent.
Carl Weiner, a neighborhood resident who was walking his dog when the incident began, said he knew it was serious when he saw "a cop kneeling behind a parked car. I don' think anybody's seen something this serious around here."
Inspector Matzen said Mr. Vennari was holed up in the building over a domestic dispute. "He had some family issues that he was depressed about," the inspector said, declining to elaborate. "We are told he has not exhibited this kind of behavior in the past."
Neighbors said they were shocked that the activity was taking place in their community. "This is very, very upsetting," said Florence Roseboom, who has lived in Cedarhurst for 10 years.
Eileen Mare, a resident for 14 years who was evacuated from her home on Clinton Avenue, said, "Usually, there are no problems at all. Usually it is very quiet."
"This is very sad, because this is the best neighborhood," said Virginia McHugh, a resident.
"We leave our door open over here. We never have to lock our door," added Patti McHugh.
Neighbors said Mr. Vennari moved into the house a little over a year ago.
Cedarhurst Deputy Mayor Joseph Horan, who lives two houses from the gunman's, said police instructed him not to leave the house. "The street is like a ghost town," he said from a phone as the siege was in its sixth hour. "My wife and I are both indoors safe and sound."
At about 4:30 P.M., police said they had made telephone contact with Mr. Vennari. "He's alive and moving around," Sergeant Reiber said.
Mr. Vennari surrendered without a struggle about six hours later and was arrested by Fourth Precinct Police Officer Vincent Boden for criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree and reckless endangerment in the first degree. Police recovered the weapon, which was an unlicensed revolver, Inspector Matzen said. After his arrest, Mr. Vennari was taken to Nassau County Medical Center, where he was undergoing a psychiatric evaluation, police said. Arraignment was pending his release from the hospital.
