By Brian McLaughlin
The 18-year-old victim was shopping with two friends and talking on his cell phone at about 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 20, when the suspect, identified as Maurice W. Burkes, 29, of Hempstead, confronted him and allegedly attacked him with a handgun, officials said. The teen was shot in the ankle, investigators said.
The victim, whose identity is being withheld, and his friends had passed by Burkes on the ground floor of the mall moments before the attack. Apparently, Burkes was angered by something he thought the victim had said, even though the victim was talking on his cell phone and never directly addressed Burkes, detectives said. Burkes followed the teen and his two friends to the second floor of the mall, near the southeast corner of the food court, where he finally confronted them.
The victim expressed confusion at Burkes' insistence that the teen had previously antagonized him, but Burkes remained aggressive, police said. Burkes asked the victim, Are you a tough guy? But before he could respond, Burkes allegedly drew a defaced 9mm handgun and pointed it at the victim's head at point-blank range.
He pulled the trigger, but the safety [device] was still on, said Third Squad Det. Sgt. Brain Sweeny. If the victim had been shot at that range he would have almost certainly been killed, he added.
The teens and his friends quickly turned and ran. But before they could escape, Burkes allegedly took the safety latch off the gun and fired at the fleeing victim. The bullet hit him in the ankle. After that first shot, Burkes reportedly fled the scene.
According to Roosevelt Field employees, many mall shoppers panicked when they heard the gunshot. We saw all these people running for their lives, said one employee. Burkes allegedly tried to escape in the confusion, but mall security pursued him.
The victim's friends brought the wounded man inside the Express for Men shop where he awaited medical attention.
Meanwhile, unarmed mall security guards, along with an off-duty Nassau County Corrections Officer, followed Burkes to the first floor of the mall. Because Burkes had a gun, the unarmed guards had to wait at a distance. However, after Burkes allegedly ditched the weapon on the counter of the Great Earth Vitamin store, the mall security guards confronted him.
Burkes allegedly continued to attempt escape after fleeing a brief encounter with the security guards.
However, Third Precinct police officers arrived on the scene roughly 10 minutes after the initial incident and prevented Burkes from escaping. Nassau Police Officer Neil Kinsella was credited with the arrest.
Meanwhile, the victim was taken to Winthrop-University Hospital in Mineola where he was treated for his wound. Doctors said he sustained relatively minor injuries and was released the next day.
Burkes was taken to the Third Precinct stationhouse in Williston Park, and was charged with attempted murder in the second degree, criminal possession of a weapon in the second and third degrees, criminal use of a firearm, assault in the first degree and resisting arrest.
Burkes was arraigned in First District Court in Hempstead the following day and a hearing on the felony charges was scheduled for Monday, June 24. The hearing was adjourned until July 15.
