Wednesday, June 16, 2010

FRANK ELTMAN
Associated Press Writer

EAST MEADOW, N.Y. -- Three people were shot, two of them fatally, during a shooting spree early Wednesday morning, and a correction officer related to two of the victims was arrested, Nassau County police said.

Stacie Williams, a 45-year-old nurse's aide who worked the night shift in the maternity ward of Nassau University Medical Center, was found shot multiple times at about 1 a.m. while on a break outside the hospital in East Meadow.

In the other shooting about 3 1/2 miles away in Hempstead, a 56-year-old man was fatally shot, police said. Lt. Kevin Smith said he was the uncle of the suspect, Nassau County Correction Officer Kim Wolfe, 43. Wolfe's grandfather was shot in the leg.

A hospital spokeswoman said it appeared to be a domestic dispute. She referred other questions about the shooting to police, who did not offer details on a possible motive.

Wolfe also abducted her 23-year-old niece before fleeing the scene in a car, Smith said.

The car was pulled over by police at 5:45 a.m. and the suspect surrendered peacefully, Smith said. Her niece was not harmed.

Police said the suspect was armed, and they would test the firearm to determine whether it was used in the shootings.

Williams worked at the hospital for 23 years, according to NUMC spokeswoman Shelley Lotenberg. "Our sympathies and prayers go out to the family, friends and colleagues," she said.

Smith said Williams' son, who rushed to the hospital after hearing of the shooting, was struck by a car while crossing the street in front of the medical center. His name and condition were not immediately released.

Wolfe is a correction officer of 19 years who worked the midnight shift supervising inmates at the county jail next to the hospital, said Liz Consolo, a spokeswoman for the Nassau County sheriff's office. She was not scheduled to work on Wednesday morning, the spokeswoman said.

Consolo declined to comment on Wolfe's disciplinary record or any other details of her employment.