A man shot and killed a woman who is believed to be his ex-girlfriend and wounded the woman’s new boyfriend before turning the gun on himself inside a Queens apartment Friday morning, police said.
A 911 call from a neighbor led police to the residence on 77th Street, where the bodies of Regan Smith, 31, and the suspected shooter, 47-year-old Nelson Giron, were recovered around 7 a.m. The second man, identified as a 43-year-old off-duty Yonkers police officer, was found with a gunshot wound to the shoulder and what was believed to be two stab wounds, police said. He was transported to Elmhurst Hospital Center, where he underwent surgery and was expected to survive.
A second 911 call came in before officers arrived, according to Chief of Detectives Dermot F. Shea, and investigators believe it was made by Smith before she died. She told the emergency operator, “I’ve been shot by my boyfriend” and “to send the police,” before disconnecting the line, Shea added.
Officers arriving at the scene found the door to the second-floor apartment locked, then heard as many as 10 shots fired, Shea said. Following protocol, the officers secured the area and called for backup and an emergency services unit.
A preliminary investigation found Smith suffered at least one gunshot wound to the head. Giron died from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said. One firearm was recovered from the scene near his body, according to Shea.
It’s believed that all three had served in the military, Shea said.
Police believe Smith and the injured man were currently romantically involved. Shea said police had recently been called to the area for an incident involving the suspect and two victims.
“On Monday, we had several calls to this general vicinity. We had an incident involving a car being keyed, and it involved the three individuals,” he said.
A spokesman for the Yonkers Police Department said the off-duty officer who was shot has been on the force for more than four years.
“The Yonkers Police Department offers its sincere condolences to the families of the victims and their colleagues,” the spokesman said, adding that no further information would be released by Yonkers police since the NYPD is the lead investigating agency.
The investigation is continuing.
