by Cris Italia
"It frightens you at first, but what can you really do?" said Anthony Teranova, 27, of Oceanside. "I take the LIRR every day and I usually don't get in till about 8 or 9 o'clock at night. I have to walk about six blocks before I get home. I can't worry every night that I might be attacked."
Fourth Precinct inspector Richard McGuire echoed Teranova's statements. "The entire neighborhood does not need to be on edge about this," McGuire said. "This is not a crime wave -- these were random attacks."
The incident in Oceanside occurred on Sept. 15, when Frank Kulish, 21, was assaulted by three men on Bayside Avenue at around 8:30p.m. Kulish was held up at gun point and struck on the head. The suspects fled on foot, and the incident was the first in a line of similar robberies and assaults that took place in Rockville Centre, Long Beach and Lynbrook.
The string of crimes resulted in the death of Anthony Battaglia, 37, of Lynbrook. He was attacked while walking home from the Lynbrook LIRR station.
What has residents even more wary is the fact that the assaults occurred on quiet streets. "You usually don't see anything like this around here," said Mike DeAngelis, 44, of Island Park. "But I'm sure after what happened police have extra cops out, so I think it's safe to say that there is no imminent danger."
According to McGuire, there have been extra patrols, but he refused to specify exactly what the precinct is doing. "We have beefed up patrols," McGuire said. "And we have some leads we are working on."
McGuire added that residents should not panic, but rather use caution. "People should use the same vigilance they use in their day-to-day lives," the inspector said. "Look out for suspicious characters, be extra careful when leaving a bank or ATM machine, and beware of loiterers."
Dana Janniso, 24, of Oceanside, says she won't walk home alone for now. "I usually get in to Oceanside around 9 p.m., but after what happened I either walk home with someone or have someone pick me up," she said. "Random or not, why even take a chance?"
"This was a horrible crime, but it was a heinous random act of violence," McGuire said. "As disturbing as this was, this is not part in parcel to the community."
Police are still looking for any information that would lead to the arrest of the suspects in these acts of violence. Police are asking anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS. All callers will remain anonymous.
In addition to the reward from Crime Stoppers, an additional $25,000 has been donated to find the men responsible for the death of Anthony Battaglia.
