UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- A Hofstra University student and an armed suspect were fatally shot during a break-in at a Long Island home early this morning.
A man armed with a handgun and wearing a ski mask busted into a home on California Ave. and Braxton St. at 2:20 a.m., surprising three women and a man inside, Nassau County Deputy Inspector Kenneth Lack said.
The gunman let one of the women leave about 10 minutes after the break-in and she immediately called 911, Lack said.
When cops arrived at the scene armed with shields, bullets started flying, leave one of the women inside the home and the gunman dead.
Cops don't believe there was any relationship between the gunman and the victims, Lack said.
"We just heard a girl screaming. It sounded like someone was being murdered," said neighbor Victoria Dehel. "She was screaming 'No! No! No!' over and over again."
Dehel, a student at SUNY Westbury, said she heard four or five shots after cops swarmed the home.
It was like a movie - it was 100% like a horror movie...Where is the protection?"
Local resident Velma Sangster, who lives two houses away from the shooting, described the victims as "quiet."
"They were very nice girls. It is so sad."
A ring of distraught Hofstra students formed near the shooting scene.
The home, located about half a block from Hofstra, is also near an elementary school. Cops closed the elementary school today because of the ongoing investigation. Today is the last day of classes for the university.
Lack says police have applied for a search warrant for the house.
Cops have not yet released the identities of the victims. The university had no immediate comment.
Republished with permission of The New York Post.
