Authorities have revealed the identity of the shooter and potential motive in a devastating murder-suicide that killed five people. According to officials, 59-year-old Joseph DeLucia Jr. shot and killed his three siblings and niece before turning the gun on himself. DeLucia was a former EMT.
He was upset with his family that they were selling his late mother's home. He lived with his mother and would have to leave afterward. DeLucia reportedly lived his entire life with his mom, Thersa. Angry at his siblings, the shooter used a pump-action Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun to gun them down.
Joanne Kearns, Tina Hammond, and Frank DeLucia all died. He also murdered his niece Victoria Hammond. The shooter then went to the front yard and shot himself. "Officers found him with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his chest," Nassau County Police Capt. Stephen Fitzpatrick said. "He was pronounced at the scene."
A neighbor described the grisly scene.
"We heard a high-pitched scream, it was Joe screaming, then one shot," neighbor Sandy Landsman told The New York Post. "I was shocked. I never would have thought beforehand that this would happen.
"We heard he was very upset over this," Landsman also added. "He didn't know where to go, he had lived there his whole life. One of the siblings said she would take care of him, that she would let him come and live with her. Apparently, that didn't sound too good to him."
Shooter Takes Own Life
According to authorities, neighbors said DeLucia suffered from mental illness and also was distraught over his mother's death. "There were challenges. It's really sad," said Wendy Paisner, a neighbor. "But his mother passed away and I think that triggered him. You know, that they were selling the house."
Other neighbors heard him frequently screaming when he got upset. They also described him as a hoarder and frequently complained about customers on social media. But despite his reported issues, DeLucia was a staple in the neighborhood.
"He was living there his entire life, never lived on his own," Fitzpatrick continued, describing the shooter's mental state. "So you could see his mindset, where his world was now changing and he was in a panic."
According to local authorities, the scene was one of the worst they've ever experienced. "In 41 years, that was one of the most horrific scenes I've ever seen," Nassau Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder also said.
