DEER PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Police on Long Island have arrested a man who is accused of driving while intoxicated after he crashed his SUV into a nail salon, killing four people and injuring nine others.
Suffolk County Police said Saturday that Steven Schwally had been speeding through the parking lot when he drove his 2020 Chevy Traverse through the front window of Hawaii Nail & Spa in Deer Park at around 4:30 p.m. on Friday.
The salon was open and conducting business at the time of the crash, police said.
Three women and a man were pronounced dead at the scene and eight females and one man were transported to various local hospitals.
Of the victims, one was a 12-year-old female and the remaining were all adults, according to police. At least two of the injuries were serious.
Schwally, 64, of Dix Hills, was charged with driving while intoxicated. He was transported to Good Samaritan University Hospital in West Islip for treatment of injuries that were not life-threatening.
Fire officials responding to the crash said he was semiconscious when his vehicle came to stop nearly at the back of the store, which is located in a strip mall.
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney's office said Schwally, who remained hospitalized Saturday morning, will be arraigned later. Spokespersons for the office and the police department said they did not have contact information for his lawyer.
Emergency personnel respond to a scene after a vehicle drove into Hawaii Nail & Spa, killing and injuring multiple people Friday, June 28, 2024, in Deer Park, N.Y. (Steve Pfost/Newsday via AP)
Driver charged with DUI for New York nail salon crash that killed 4 and injured 9
Driver charged with DUI for New York nail salon crash that killed 4 and injured 9
Emergency personnel respond to a scene after a vehicle drove into Hawaii Nail & Spa, killing and injuring multiple people Friday, June 28, 2024, in Deer Park, N.Y. (Steve Pfost/Newsday via AP)
NEW YORK (AP) — Police in upstate New York shot and killed a 13-year-old boy after they say he pointed what turned out to be a BB gun at officers during a foot chase.
Utica officials released body camera footage of Friday night's shooting on Saturday and held a contentious public meeting attended by the teen's family and other members of their local refugee community.
The state attorney general’s office is investigating and the police officers involved have been placed on leave, as is protocol during such shootings.
Here’s what you need to know.
The shooting happened at around 10 p.m. on a residential street in Utica, an old industrial city about 240 miles (400 kilometers) northwest of Manhattan that sits along the Mohawk River at the foot of the Adirondack Mountains.
According to police, three officers on patrol had stopped to question two youths. One of the teens, Nyah Mway, then fled on foot and pointed what appeared to be a handgun at the officers. After a struggle on the ground, one of the officers fired a single shot into the teen's chest. He was taken to a hospital, where he died.
Mway, whose family name is Nyah, was a Karen refugee born in Myanmar. He had just graduated from middle school and was set to start high school in the fall.
His anguished relatives and other members of the local Karen community have called for police to be held accountable for what they view as an unjust killing, as Mway was already subdued and on the ground when he was shot.
The teen's family said Monday they were waiting for the medical examiners’ office to release his body so they could make funeral arrangements.
Mway's cousin Lay Htoo told The Associated Press that the family had come to the U.S. for education and good jobs in the hopes of living a peaceful life after decades of strife and violence in Myanmar, which is gripped by civil war.
Police have released the names of the three officers who were involved in the incident, saying they are assigned to a crime prevention unit. Patrick Husnay, a six-year veteran of the department, was the officer that shot the boy.
Bryce Patterson, who has been on the police force for four years, and Andrew Citriniti, a two-year department veteran who previously served with the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office, were the other officers involved.
All three remain on paid administrative leave, which is standard in police-involved shootings, Lt. Michael Curley, a department spokesperson, confirmed Monday.
The videos released late Saturday show a chaotic scene.
In the footage, an officer says he needs to pat down the two teens standing on a sidewalk to ensure they don’t have any weapons. One bolts down the street appearing to point a handgun at the officers while he runs away.
The officers scream “gun!” before one of them tackles him and punches him. Another officer opens fire as the two wrestle on the ground.
Bystanders can be heard screaming at the police throughout the recordings. At one point, an officer yells back: “We’re trying to save him right now!”
Police say the BB or pellet gun Mway pointed closely resembled a Glock 17 Gen 5 handgun with a detachable magazine.
The department released images showing the device did not have an orange band on the barrel that many BB gun-makers have added in recent years to distinguish their products from real firearms.
Police Chief Mark Williams said the officers stopped the teens because they matched the description of the suspects in recent robberies in the area.
He said the suspects in those cases were Asian males — one walking and the other on a bicycle — who brandished a black firearm.
Mayor Michael Galime spoke Saturday and met privately with the family. He also addressed the Karen community during a contentious meeting Sunday at a local church, rejecting suggestions that the shooting showed prejudice.
“What I witnessed on the bodycam footage and all of the reports I read leading up to that incident, there was no reference or any indication that there was any racism,” Galime told the crowd.
The mayor’s office didn’t immediately respond to a Monday email seeking comment.
Karens are an ethnic minority that are among the groups warring with the military rulers of Myanmar, which was formerly known as Burma.
Utica, a city of more than 65,000 residents, is home to more than 4,200 people from Myanmar, according to The Center, a nonprofit that helps to resettle the refugees.
They’re among thousands of refugees from various countries who have settled in the area in recent decades and who now make up more than 20% of the faded Rust Belt hub's population, by some estimates.
State Attorney General Letitia James’ office is conducting a review to determine if the police department's use of force was justified, as is standard in police shootings.
Her office said Monday that its investigation was ongoing and that it couldn’t provide a timeframe for when it would be complete.
The police department is conducting its own investigation to see whether the officers followed the proper procedures, policies and training.
Curley said Monday that any additional details about the criminal investigation into the shooting will come from James’ office.
Associated Press radio reporter Julie Walker contributed to this report.
Follow Philip Marcelo at twitter.com/philmarcelo.
A young girl lights a candle during a vigil for 13-year-old Nyah Mway in Utica, N.Y., Saturday, June 29, 2024. On Friday, June 28, Mway was fatally shot by police who’d tackled him to the ground after he allegedly pointed what turned out to be a BB gun at them during a foot chase. (Daniel DeLoach/Observer-Dispatch via AP)
Utica Mayor Michael Galime, center right, grey jacket, talks with the family members of a 13-year-old boy who was fatally shot by a police officer Friday night after a news conference, Saturday, June 28, 2024 in Utica, N.Y. An officer shot and killed the teenager who was fleeing while wielding a “realistic appearing firearm," authorities said Saturday. (Kenny Lacy Jr./Syracuse.com via AP)
Police investigate the scene of Friday nights shooting in Utica, N.Y., early Saturday, June 29, 2024. An officer shot and killed a teen fleeing while pointing a replica gun, police said Saturday. (Kenny Lacy Jr./Syracuse.com via AP)
