Bellmore firefighter Justin Angell was shot by the driver who caused a single-car crash on Bellmore Avenue on Tuesday night.
The driver, whose identity has not been released, was then shot and killed by Nassau County police.
Angell, 20, is listed in stable condition at Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow, according to the hospital's director of public affairs.
Angell arrived on the scene after the Bellmore Fire Department and Nassau County Police Department received a calls about a car striking a pole on the main road near the Claxton Avenue intersection. After hitting the pole, the car then continued about 30 feet, before stalling in the middle of Bellmore Avenue.
Bellmore Fire Department personnel responded to the scene shortly after the accident. According to Detective Lieutenant Kevin Smith of the Nassau County Police Department, Angell approached the car to make sure the driver was alright, and was met by gunfire.
Angell was struck in his side toward his back, Smith said.
Officers from the Seventh Precinct and one of the NCPD’s canine units responded to the scene shortly after Angell was shot. The officers saw the gunman with a weapon and shot and killed him.
“They were confronted by an armed individual, who had already fired at a fireman from the Bellmore Fire Department,” Smith said.
The police said the shooter had several guns in his car, including at least two long-barreled guns, and one handgun.
The gunman was driving a Ford “150-type” pickup truck, the front of which was caved in, police said. The pole was shattered in half.
According to Mike Hahn, who lives in the vicinity of the incident, the power in the area went out shortly after the accident, but was quickly restored. He also heard the first gunshots being fired.
“I was coming out of the house over here with my dog, and as I walked out of the door with her, I heard four rounds go off," Hahn said. "As I put the dog back in I turned around and heard a woman scream, ‘They shot him. They shot him.’”
As of 7 a.m., a crime scene was still established on Bellmore Avenue south of Merrick Road. The road was closed and homicide detectives were investigating.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
