N.Y. police shoot, kill groom

In a fusillade of 50 gunshots, undercover police officers killed a Queens man who had been celebrating at his bachelor’s party and injured two of his friends after the three left a strip club early Saturday, police said.

Circumstances before and during the shooting, just after 4 a.m. near the Kalua Cabaret in Queens, remained murky late Saturday. The three were unarmed. They allegedly had been in a car that hit an undercover police officer and an unmarked police minivan.

New York Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, at a 7:30 p.m. news conference, said the shots were fired by five undercover officers. Asked whether the shootings were justified, he said, “We’re not in a position to characterize the shooting at this time.”

Queens Dist. Atty. Richard Brown said there would be “a full, fair and complete investigation of this incident.... I would urge everyone to withhold judgment as well until all the facts are known.”

Sean Bell, 23, of Queens, who was to have married his longtime girlfriend in a restaurant Saturday night, was shot in the neck and arm. He was taken to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where he died. At another hospital, Joseph Guzman, 31, was in critical condition with 11 gunshot wounds; Trent Benefield, 23, shot three times, was in stable condition. Both are from Queens.

Two police officers were also taken to hospitals. One was treated and released; the other was held for observation.

Two Port Authority officers were treated and released for minor facial injuries from flying glass from vehicles at the scene.

Throughout the day, family members of the victims, the Rev. Al Sharpton, and local elected officials expressed outrage and bewilderment and called for answers.

“We don’t want any coverup on either side of this,” Sharpton said Saturday night outside the home Bell shared with his fiancee, Nicole Paultre, 22, and their two daughters. He said police had incomplete information and were presenting an incomplete version of events.

Sharpton said a prayer vigil and rally would be held at noon today in a Queens park.

Police did not issue a report about the shooting, a departure from standard practice, and would make no official comment throughout the day.

“It’s confusing as hell,” said one police supervisor involved in the investigation, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The officers were part of a plainclothes team carrying out what the police supervisor described as a joint narcotics/vice operation targeting the club.

Kelly, at his news conference, said the Kalua club had been a hot spot for trouble. “It had a chronic history of narcotics, prostitution and weapons complaints,” he said.

New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg issued a statement after Kelly’s news conference.

“Although it is too early to draw conclusions about this morning’s shootings in Jamaica, Queens, we know that the NYPD officers on the scene had reason to believe that an altercation involving a firearm was about to happen and were trying to stop it,” Bloomberg said.

According to Kelly: Before the shooting, an undercover officer in the club overheard a dancer complain to a man that a patron was bothering her, and the man patted his waist. The officer, believing that the man was armed and that trouble was imminent, left the club to warn his superior and other officers.

Kelly continued his description of events: Outside, the officer came upon a group of eight men who seemed to be harassing a lone man. One of the men, Guzman, said, “Yo, go get my gun.” Another man, Bell, threatened the lone man. Then the group stopped harassing him and split into two groups of four, with Bell, Guzman, Benefield and another man heading to a Nissan Altima on Liverpool Street as the undercover officer followed.

In quick succession, Kelly said, the following happened: The four men got into the Nissan just as an unmarked police Toyota Camry passed them. The undercover officer crossed Liverpool and stood in front of the Nissan. An unmarked police Ford minivan rounded the corner onto Liverpool. The Nissan pulled forward, struck the undercover officer, scraping his shin, and then crashed into the minivan. The Nissan backed up and then struck the minivan again.

That’s when the shooting started, Kelly said.

Kelly and other police sources said the fourth man fled the scene.

At the scene of the shooting, at least 46 evidence markers dotted the street.