‘One of the most horrific scenes I’ve ever seen’: Five dead in awful US murder-suicide

A decades-long police veteran has described the scene at a home in the US as “one of the most horrific” he’s ever witnessed.

A horrific murder-suicide in the United States has left five people dead, including the gunman, who reportedly turned on his own family members over plans to sell his late mother’s house.

Local police in Syosset, about 50 kilometres east of New York City, say the shooter was Joseph DeLucia Jr.

Shortly before midday on Sunday, US time, DeLucia and other members of his family met at the house of his recently deceased mother Theresa DeLucia, 95, whose funeral had been held three days earlier.

They were there to discuss selling the house, where DeLucia himself also lived. Instead, Nassau County Police say, he fired twelve rounds from a shotgun, killing three of his siblings and his niece before taking his own life.

Joseph DeLucia Jr has been identified as the shooter.

The shotgun used in the shooting. Picture: Nassau County Police

The deceased are DeLucia himself, 59, Joanne Kearns, 69, Tina Hammond, 64, her daughter Victoria Hammond, 30, and Frank DeLucia, 64.

At a media conference, Nassau County Police Captain Stephen Fitzpatrick said the family members had “assembled in the den area” of Ms DeLucia’s home, where they were waiting for a real estate agent.

DeLucia “approached them in the rear area of the house and, from the kitchen, fired twelve shots, striking all four of them multiple times”, Capt Fitzpatrick said.

“He then took the weapon, went out to the front lawn, was shouting indiscriminately about what happened.

“A neighbour heard him doing this, called 911, and that was our 911 caller. He then... killed himself.”

Police believe DeLucia, a former emergency medical technician turned car mechanic, was distraught over his mother’s death and “in a panic” over the prospect of being forced to move out of the house with nowhere else to go.

“The perception of Joseph Jr was that he was being cut out of the will, and was going to be displaced, without a place to go,” said Capt Fitzpatrick.

“He was living there his entire life, never lived on his own.

“So you could see his mindset, where his world was now changing and he was in a panic.”

He noted that DeLucia had suffered from “past mental issues”. However, the pump-action shotgun used in the murder-suicide appears to have been purchased legally.

This home was the site of the horrific incident. Picture: Google Maps

When emergency services arrived at the house, they discovered “probably one of the most horrific scenes I have ever seen”, according to Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder, a 41-year law enforcement veteran.

“Officers found him with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his chest,” Capt Fitzpatrick said of the gunman.

“He was pronounced (dead) at the scene.”

A neighbour called police after they heard DeLucia “screaming” outside the house.

“We heard a high-pitched scream. It was Joe screaming. Then one shot,” Sandy Landsman, 73, told The New York Post.

“He didn’t say anything, just a high-pitched scream. I had heard him scream like that before. Whenever he gets frustrated or really upset, he lets that out.

“He’d be out working in front of the house on his car, or his mother’s car, and he would be trying to fix something and he’d break something, and he’d scream just like that.

“I was shocked. I never would have thought beforehand that this would happen.

“We heard he was very upset over (the planned sale of the house). He didn’t know where to go, he had lived there his whole life. One of the siblings said she would take care of him, that she would let him come and live with her. Apparently, that didn’t sound too good to him.”

Another neighbour, Wendy Paisner, told The Post the family had endured “challenges” and the incident was “really sad”.

“His mother passed away, and I think that triggered him,” Ms Paisner said.

“You know, that they were selling the house.”

DeLucia was arrested for drunk driving in 1983, but otherwise had no criminal record.

Police were called to the home for a welfare check in 2022, but concluded DeLucia “was not displaying any signs that he was dangerous to himself or others”.

At that time, police could not take him to hospital for a psychiatric evaluation “against his will”, Capt Fitzpatrick explained.

Commissioner Ryder relayed to the media unconfirmed reports, from neighbours, that DeLucia “had made statements in the past that if you hear gunshots, don’t bother calling 911 because it will be too late”.

According to an obituary posted online, Theresa DeLucia was a “beloved and cherished member” of her local community.

“Theresa was known for her gentle nature and ability to comfort her patients with a smile or a kind word,” the obituary said.

“Her colleagues and patients remember her as a kind soul who always went the extra mile to ensure the wellbeing of those in her care.”

The horrific shooting, coming so soon after her death, piles tragedy upon tragedy.

Originally published as ‘One of the most horrific scenes I’ve ever seen’: Five dead in awful US murder-suicide