LIRR Bellport station shooting leaves man injured, police say

A man was shot early Friday morning while getting on a Long Island Rail Road train in Bellport, MTA police said.

A 40-year-old man with a bike was waiting for an eastbound train around 2:25 a.m., according to police. When the train arrived, four people exited, and one of the four fired a gun in the direction of passengers entering the train, police said.

The man was hit in the right shoulder. He remained on the train until the next stop, and police met him at the Mastic-Shirley station.

He was taken to the hospital, treated and has since been released, police said.

Law enforcement is still looking for the four suspects who ran toward the woods beyond the station. No description was given for them.

MTA Police were using drones to search for the suspects, reviewing video and speaking with some passengers who were on that train.

Anyone with information about this incident should contact the confidential MTAPD tipline at 718-361-2212.

An employee at the nearby Sonoco gas station said he heard the shots.

"I didn't see nobody or nothing because the train was right there blocking," he said.

A deli manager said this is unusual and it's a safe community. 

There were delays on the Montauk branch Friday morning due to the police activity. Eastbound and westbound service was temporarily interrupted but resumed at 5:14 a.m., officials said.

Violent crime and shootings are extremely rare on the LIRR. In 2022, a 20-year-old was fatally shot at the Ronkonkoma station. He had been targeted. In 1993, six people were killed and 19 were wounded in the LIRR massacre in Garden City.