A violent scene in Far Rockaway turned into a nightmare Saturday when police shot a shotgun armed man outside a Queens home after an explosion erupted from the residence, then found two relatives dead inside, according to police and sources.
The NYPD responded around noon to Ocean Crest Boulevard near Hartman Lane after a 911 caller reported shots fired inside the home.
What officers encountered was not some routine domestic disturbance, but the kind of chaos that reminds sane people why police still matter.
Assistant Chief Christopher McIntosh said the caller gave dispatchers a terrifying warning before officers arrived.
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“The caller stated that her husband was armed and had a history with mental illness,” he said.
The woman also told 911 that her husband, identified as 33 year old Kegan Thomas, “killed them,” McIntosh said.
That chilling message set off a rapid police response to a home that had already become a deadly crime scene.
When officers arrived, the wife was outside the residence and told them she had heard gunshots.
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She said “and when she walked into the room she saw a body on the bed,” McIntosh said.
According to McIntosh, the woman ran out of the building and called 911 after seeing the body.
“Additionally, she told responding officers to be careful because her husband has a shotgun,” he said.
By 12:15 p.m., the NYPD had called in its Emergency Services Unit, the specialized officers who get summoned when a bad situation has the potential to get much worse. In this case, it did exactly that.
As officers prepared to force entry into the home, McIntosh said “a large fiery explosion erupted from the house,” turning an already dangerous call into a full blown combat zone.
The cause and type of explosive remain under investigation.
Sources said the suspect then emerged from the home wearing a bulletproof vest with extra ammunition inside it.
He was also armed with a shotgun, giving officers little room for hesitation.
Police said the suspect confronted officers and refused to obey their commands.
A police source said he was shot by multiple officers after ignoring “numerous commands to drop the shotgun,” which is about as clear a warning as anyone should need.
McIntosh described the confrontation in detail.
“Officers issued numerous verbal commands for the subject to put his hands up so he could drop the weapon,” he said.
The suspect still did not comply, according to police.
“After failing to comply with repeat commands to put his hands up and still armed (with) the shotgun, officers discharged their weapons and struck the subject.”
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Thomas was taken to Jamaica Hospital in critical condition and was undergoing surgery, sources said.
McIntosh said he has no criminal record and no mental health history with the NYPD, a detail investigators will likely continue examining as they piece together what led to the violence.
Inside the home, police found two bodies with bullet wounds, sources told The Post.
The victims were believed to be the suspect’s mother in law and sister in law.
The horror of the scene was matched only by the danger officers faced while entering it.
In a city where politicians and activist types regularly lecture police from safe rooms and press conferences, this was the real world again, a shotgun, an explosion, body armor, dead victims inside, and officers moving toward it.
“Again, it cannot be overstated that the bravery of the officers who responded today … they ran toward the danger with no hesitation,” McIntosh said.
That kind of praise was not just official boilerplate.
Investigators are still working to determine what explosive was set off inside the residence and whether the blast was deliberately triggered as officers closed in.
The crime scene left behind is expected to require careful processing, given the combination of gunfire, fire, possible explosives, and two deaths inside the home.
The NYPD shooting will be reviewed, as police involved shootings always are.
But the early account paints a stark picture, officers responded to a woman begging for help, faced an armed man in body armor after an explosion, and fired only after repeated commands were ignored.
For the neighbors in Far Rockaway, the quiet of a Saturday afternoon was shattered by gunfire, flames, and a deadly family tragedy.
For the officers who answered the call, it was another reminder that when everyone else runs out, somebody still has to go in.
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