CBS2 Exclusive: LI Construction Worker Shot With Pellet Gun; Alleged Gunman Reportedly Blames Noise

MERRICK, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Shots from what turned out to be a pellet rifle came out of nowhere in Merrick, Long Island this week, sending workers at the site scrambling for cover and leaving one of them injured.

As CBS2's Jennifer McLogan reported exclusively Wednesday, the home construction workers on the suburban block said they had to duck and cover behind a dumpster when the pellets fired from an air gun suddenly rang out a day earlier.

"I am the one the bullet went right by my ear. It went literally two inches away from my ear," said Streamline Builders construction worker Lawrence Smith.

Smith was grazed by the pellet fire.

Nassau County police told WCBS 880's Sophia Hall that Timothy Burzynski, 26, fired the gun around noon Tuesday from his Merrick home because the construction noise was keeping him from sleeping.

"The construction noise was annoying him," Smith said. "That was his explanation."

The flabbergasted construction crew chief said the shots came without warning, from a second-floor window in the house across Frederick Avenue.

"Obviously, he was somewhat unstable at the time," Nassau County police Sgt. Richard Lebrun said.

One of the pellets also struck Douglas Oriz of Amityville and lodged in his back. He was taken to an area hospital to have the pellet removed, and was recovering at home late Wednesday.

Burzynski reportedly admitted that he was sick and tired of disturbing sounds coming from the site of the new home under construction. Up-close exposure to the electric saw and the nail gun can indeed permanently damage one's hearing, but when CBS2 measured the decibels from across the street, they dropped to "acceptable, yet annoying" levels, according to the National Institute on Deafness.

Smith said Burzynski had never said anything about the noise.

"There was no approach," Smith said. "He just started shooting at us."

Burzynski pleaded not guilty to assault and criminal possession of a weapon. Police reported a cache of other firearms and assorted ammunition was seized from the home.

The suspect's father agreed to post the $2,000 bond.

"My son's been a good kid. I don't know what happened. I don't know what happened yesterday. I wasn't there," said Theodore Burzynski.

The elder Burzynski said he was aware of the weapons in the home.

"I have weapons," Theodore Burzynski said. "I've had weapons since I was 18."

Meantime, some neighbors were reeling from what they had heard and witnessed.

"The back of the cop car was open and there was a huge blanket with six big guns, and scopes, and boxes of ammunition," said neighbor Shari Henkell. "And I said... I live right here. I have two children in school. I have two Girl Scout troops. This is crazy."

Court papers indicated that although Burzynski admitted being peeved by the construction noise, he claimed he was actually aiming his pellet gun at a bird across the street.

Bruzynski told the court he is employed by cable TV, attended college for a time, and is a gun enthusiast.

Lebrun said the outcome of the incident could have been much worse, and that the worker could have been shot in the eye, head or neck.

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