Questions Remain After Long Island Police Fatally Shoot Carjacking Suspect In Queens
MINEOLA, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Nassau County police says a deadly police-involved shooting last night in Queens began with a carjacking.
The suspect behind the wheel of the smashed vehicle at East 217th Street and Linden Boulevard is identified as 19-year-old Matthew Felix of Cambria Heights.
Felix was shot dead by Nassau County police plainclothes officers investigating a violent carjacking in Garden City Park early Tuesday afternoon.
Watch: Nassau County Police Discuss Deadly Police-Involved Shooting
"Displays a black firearm. Points it to... the victim's head and tells him to get out of the car. The suspect then flees the scene in the stolen car," said Nassau County Police Chief Patrick Ryder.
The vehicle was tracked to the suspect's home. Officers crossed over the county line from Nassau to Queens, staking out Felix until he drove off in another vehicle.
"The officers were fully identified. They were their vests that said police and their shields were out," Ryder said.
A source tells CBS2's Jennifer McLogan police vehicles may have tried to box in the suspect, who has a rap sheet in both Nassau County and New York City.
One witness said Felix appeared to drive at officers, who discharged their weapons.
"All the cops are OK. I have one suspect shot and a car into a building," responders could be heard saying in Broadcastify audio.
It was a chaotic scene with gunshots ringing out on a street crowded with shoppers and rush hour commuters.
"I understand you want to catch the criminal, and we want you to catch them. But you've got to think about the safety of the public," said Nassau County resident Sherlund Luck.
"Did the suspect whom they were chasing have a gun pointing back at them?" asked Queens resident Wanda Hogwasth.
The bullet-riddled car has been towed. Crime scene units are collecting shell casings. Police security cameras are posted at that very crime scene intersection.
Were the officers wearing body cameras? Was there dashboard video? All will be part of an intensive investigation already launched by NYPD and Nassau Police.
Nassau County police would not say if the suspect was armed at the time he was shot. They've referred all crime scene questions to the NYPD.
