Crime

Posted Tuesday, December 22, 2015 4:57 pm

Daine Taylor/Herald Courtesy NCPD Rebecca Anderson/Herald





Nassau County police have arrested and charged Oliver Lee, 21, of Douglaston Parkway in Little Neck, Queens in the shooting of an unidentified employee of the Roosevelt Field Mall on Tuesday.

The 67-year-old male victim was taken to an area hospital after being shot in the back of the shoulder during the robbery at the Tourneau store just before 1 p.m. The victim is in stable condition and was expected to be released from the hospital later in the day on Dec. 23, officials said.

According to police, Lee entered the store and asked to see a Rolex watch valued at $18,750. He was then escorted to a private viewing room, where he brandished a semi-automatic handgun and demanded that the clerk hand over the watch.

Kenneth Krug, a retired New York Police Department officer who happened to be in the mall at the time, saw Lee and intervened. What resulted was a minute and a half struggle that began inside Tourneau and ended outside an adjacent store in the mall concourse, police said.

Nassau County Police Commissioner Thomas Krumpter said Krug was able to jam the semi-automatic weapon with his hand, which is why only one round was fired.

"In this case, by his actions there was only able to be fired one particular shot into a crowded mall," Krumpter said, adding that there were thousands of people in the mall at the time of the shooting.

The gun was purchased about 11 years ago in the southern U.S., according to police, and was not licensed to Lee. The investigation into Lee's acquisition of the firearm and motive are still ongoing, Krumpter said.

Lee possessed roughly 10 pills of Oxycodone when he was apprehended, police said, but there is not enough evidence to suggest that drugs played a role in the robbery. Photos of the drugs and the weapon appeared on Lee's Facebook page before the robbery, according to police.

Krug, who was armed, showed great restraint in opting not to use his firearm, police said.

"Kenneth Krug's actions can only be described as heroic. He engaged in what was a life-and-death struggle," Krumpter said.

Krug suffered minor contusions to his head and hand.

Carl Judd Jr., a retired officer from both the NYPD and the Lake Success Police Department also responded to the scene. He was shopping with his wife in Macy’s when he heard a single shot. His wife went to hide while he went toward the shooter.

When Judd saw that the suspect was apprehended he turned his attention to the man who was shot who was lying about 25 yards away. “I am trained in basic first aid, trauma and triage so I knew what to do,” he said, “The man was conscious, he lost some blood, a good amount, but not life threatening. He was awake and talking to me. I put a jacket under his head, and covered him because he was in shock. The EMT’s (Emergency Medical Technicians) came and out his on a stretcher and he was taken to a hospital.”

Judd said running toward the shooting was instinctive, that police and firemen are trained to respond. “Other members of various police units were there, some with guns drawn, but their response was spot on. Many were in plain clothes and they all identified themselves, there was no friendly fire. I was very impressed.”

NCPD received more than 400 calls inside of an hour from frightened shoppers inside the mall — 30 to 40 times more than what the department typically receives on this day and at this time.

Krumpter lauded the police department's extensive training for these kinds of situations — several sessions of which were conducted at the Roosevelt Field Mall before the shooting.

"The training was paramount to a successful conclusion and restoring order in a very chaotic scene," Krumpter said.