A murder suspect wounded an innocent 3-year-old girl while firing at cops during a tense stand-off on Long Island late Tuesday – and then fatally shot himself, police said.
The violence unfolded around 8:30 p.m., when Suffolk County Police Homicide detectives showed up at a home on Ticonderoga Court in Ridge to investigate a murder that happened in June, authorities said.
The cops were interviewing a friend of the suspect, Gary Jones, 38, who informed them that Jones was in the house, Suffolk County Police said.
Detectives then directed the friend, as well as children who were also inside, to leave the house, authorities said.
Jones, of North Amityville, then came out of a room – armed with a handgun – and fired toward the detectives, cops said.
The detectives backed out of the house and were not struck – but one of the “numerous” rounds pierced a wall, striking a 3-year-old girl, named Lovely Toney, in the next apartment, according to police and WABC.
Lovely’s father, James Toney, told the station his daughter was standing on the couch when the stray slug struck her. He only realized she was shot when he spotted the blood.
“I didn’t know what to do except to grab her and rush her out of the house. She’s a strong trooper, she stood there. And then it dawned on me,” Toney said. “Cops were already out here, I guess something was going on next door.”
The bullet tore through the back of the couch before striking Lovely, then ricocheted into another wall and ultimately landed in a closet, Toney said.
The toddler underwent surgery at a local hospital, where she is listed in stable condition, cops said.
Detectives and police officers surrounded the house and called for hostage negotiators, as well as the Emergency Services Unit, cops said.
Emergency Services officers then sent a robot into the home, and found Jones dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.
Officers did not open fire at any point, cops said.