A distraught son killed four members of his family before committing suicide as they gathered to discuss how to resolve his late mother’s affairs.
Joe DeLucia Jr. opened fire inside the family home on Wyoming Court in Syosset, Long Island, shortly before noon Sunday.
Neighbors heard cries, wails and anguished screams before DeLucia fatally shot himself on his front lawn minutes after the massacre.
Her mother, family matriarch Theresa Martha DeLucia, 95, died on Aug. 19 and was buried Friday, still causing her great dismay.
Distraught son Joe DeLucia Jr (left) killed four members of his family before committing suicide as they gathered to discuss settling his late mother’s affairs.
His mother, family matriarch Theresa Martha DeLucia, 95, died on Aug. 19 and was buried Friday, so he was still deeply distraught.
DeLucia, who has mental health issues, is believed to have been unable to bear the prospect of moving out of the family home, where she had lived for many years.
Real estate agent Mary Macaluso was asked to come to the home on Sunday to discuss selling the property, but when she arrived she found a crime scene.
Neighbor Randi Marquis told DailyMail.com that Theresa’s will stated that the house was to be sold and everyone living there was to move out.
“She was afraid of being homeless… Her sister told me she stopped taking her medicine on Saturday, and once she stops taking medicine, that’s it,” she said.
“He had everything planned. I don’t know where he got the gun.”
The victims were DeLucia’s brother, who flew in from North Carolina, a sister from Tampa and another sister from Long Island, along with her 26-year-old daughter.
One of the sisters is said to have offered to let DeLucia stay at her house and take care of him, and it is unclear why he turned her down.
Marquis explained that the gathering was also going to be a birthday party for one of DeLucia’s sisters.
She was at home organizing food for the party, intending to come after Macaluso finished discussing the sale of the house, when she realized something was wrong.
“When I saw the ambulance I knew,” he said, although initially he only thought DeLucia had taken his own life.
‘When I went to the neighbor’s house and a neighbor told me: “he took them all”… it was selfish.’
DeLucia opened fire inside the family home on Wyoming Court in Syosset, Long Island, shortly before noon Sunday.
Officers found a man with a self-inflicted gunshot wound on the front lawn of this Syosset, New York, home on Sunday, and four other victims inside.
Marquis said DeLucia was born with the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck and was deprived of oxygen during delivery.
She said he was a retired paramedic who worked as a mechanic in Hicksville and would drive to work and then immediately return home to care for his mother.
“He loved his mom. He was always there. He was there every day at the hospital,” she said.
Marquis said DeLucia’s sister, with whom she was close friends, told her she was worried about her brother in the days after their mother’s death.
The neighbor spoke to DeLucia, who was talking about ending his life.
“I told him that in the Catholic religion you don’t do that… now is not your time. All your brothers and sisters are here,” he said.
DeLucia posted this license plate as matching his mood, though it was unclear if it was his car or just one he saw.
Police said they responded to a call about shots fired in the quiet cul-de-sac.
Police said they responded to a call about shots fired in a quiet cul-de-sac where they found a man suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound on the front lawn shortly before noon Sunday.
“The mother had just passed away and they were selling the house,” real estate agent Mary Macaluso told Newsday.
He said he was supposed to meet his relatives at the house around noon, but when he arrived, authorities had already closed the street.
“All the kids were here for the funeral and they asked me to come see the house,” Macaluso said, explaining that one of DeLucia’s sons asked him to meet with the family so they would know what to do before listing the home, which is estimated to be worth nearly $900,000 on Zillow.
The family wanted the evaluation done quickly because two of their members came from Florida for the funeral and would be returning soon, he said.
Rusty chairs and other junk sit outside the old house the brothers were planning to sell.
But the suspect, believed to be in his 60s, had lived in the home all his life, and neighbors say losing the house was too much for him to bear.
“I didn’t think he would take his whole family, his brothers,” said a neighbor. He told Fox 5 New York.
“I thought maybe he was distressed and did this only to himself.”
Other neighbors said they heard gunshots, as they remained in shock at the gruesome scene.
“I initially heard it was a murder-suicide, and that’s pretty bad,” Mike Steffens told ABC 7. “And then I heard that four people had been murdered and then it was a suicide, so that’s something you don’t hear very often, let alone in your own town.”
Another resident, Wendy Paisner, called the murder-suicide a “tragedy for the family” in her Comments to NBC 4 New York.
Nassau County police say they are not identifying any of the victims, the shooter, a possible motive or what weapon was used in the shooting.
They will release more information about their findings on Monday.