Sources: Off-duty NYPD officer dead in murder-suicide over alleged love triangle
WALLKILL, N.Y. -- An off-duty NYPD officer allegedly shot and killed a man in Orange County before dying by suicide.
The incident is believed to be the result of a love triangle gone horribly wrong, CBS2's Nick Caloway reported Monday.
It happened in the middle of a busy parking lot in Wallkill just after 10:30 p.m. Sunday. Witnesses said gunshots rang out in rapid succession. Some said there were more than a dozen fired.
"The first time was like boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom," a witness named Tommy said.
"I hear pow, pow, pow, pow, pow," said a witness named Jen. "Next thing I know, probably, I don't know how long afterwards, cops were all over this place."
According to police, off-duty NYPD officer Sean Armstead was in his personal car when he rammed a vehicle he'd been following on Route 211. Sources said a 20-year-old man, who investigators believe was romantically involved with Armstead's wife, was inside the other vehicle.
Police identified the 20-year-old as Edward Wilkins, of Wurtsboro.
Wilkins got out of the vehicle and ran to a Buffalo Wild Wings parking lot, where police said Armstead, 36, shot and killed Wilkins before turning the gun on himself.
"I mean, the smell of the gunpowder was so heavy," said Jen, who was staying at a nearby hotel when she heard the shots.
"I saw the bodies laying on the ground. First I only saw the one, and I found out it was two, and the girl was outside crying hysterically," Jen said.
Armstead's wife had arrived in another car and was not injured, police said.
Armstead lived in Port Jervis and was assigned to NYPD Housing in the Bronx.
Employees at the Buffalo Wild Wings said the restaurant was on lockdown for about two hours before they were allowed to go home.
The New York State Attorney General's Office is leading the investigation. New York State Police and NYPD are assisting, officials said.
