By Bill Parry
A 47-year-old state Corrections officer shot and killed herself in Long Island City early Tuesday morning, according to the NYPD. The correction officer, who was in uniform, was arguing with “her current or ex-boyfriend” according to a police spokesman, outside the Queensboro Correctional Facility at 47-07 Van Dam St., where they both worked as prison guards.
The argument intensified around 6:30 a.m. when she drew her weapon and opened fire toward the man who was not shot, police said. The woman then discharged some rounds into his vehicle as the man fled inside the facility. The female officer, who has not been identified, then shot herself in the chest, police said. Paramedics rushed her to Elmhurst Hospital Center, where she later died, according to the spokesman.
“This morning there was a tragic incident outside the Queensboro Correctional Facility involving two Corrections officers,” state Department of Corrections Spokesman Thomas Mailey said. “At no time was security to the facility breached. As a precaution, the facility is operating on a modified schedule. The department is assisting the New York City Police Department in its investigation.”
The Queensboro Correctional Facility is a minimum security prison with the primary purpose of acting as a re-entry center for men. The current capacity is 416 inmates.
The facility is located one block from LaGuardia Community College and across Van Dam Street from the City Ice Pavilion.
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparr
