Police are searching for two men who robbed a home poker game and shot a person on their way out. Just before midnight on Easter Sunday, a group of 11 people in Sayville, Suffolk County, New York were taken by surprise when two masked men barged through a side door and stole cash, phones, and jewelry.
As they were escaping, one of the robbers shot a man who was entering the house, likely unaware of what was happening. The victim was hospitalized, but police say he will make a full recovery. One of the bullets struck the house next door, but fortunately nobody else was hurt.
“It’s usually a real quiet block. Nothing ever happens here,” neighbor Cliff Miller told Newsday.
same house with the same owner was hit during a poker game in 2010
Miller also said that he will feel better once he knows if it was a random attack or if it was targeted – presumably he would prefer that it was not random. Suffolk police do believe that the house and poker game were specifically targeted. One piece of evidence: that same house with the same owner was hit during a poker game in 2010.
Detective Lt. Anthony Calandrillo told the media that investigators will go back to the 2010 case to see if there is any connection to this one.
Another neighbor told Newsday that it was well known that the house hosted regular poker games. It was never a problem, but because of the robbery and shooting, she wants the games to end.