The Shooting Of Officer Mark Collins – A Timeline
/Second Precinct Officer Mark Collins was shot in the line of duty shortly before midnight March 11 outside 11 Mercer Court in Huntington Station, setting off a fast-developing chain of events between his injury and release from Stony Brook University Medical Center Sunday.
For the full reports on the case as it unfolded, read on.
11:58 p.m., Wednesday, March 11
Collins, 35, is shot twice – once in the hip, and once in the neck – near East Jericho Turnpike in Huntington Station. Huntington Community First Aid Squad and SCPD paramedics tend to Collins’ wounds before he is air-lifted to Stony Brook University Medical Center, with the nearby Target parking lot serving as a helicopter staging ground.
Approx. 1 a.m., Thursday, March 12
Sheldon Leftenant, 22, with addresses in Huntington Station and Mastic Beach, is captured. He is discovered hiding in a shed about a block away from 11 Mercer Court, where he allegedly shot Collins after fleeing a traffic stop nearby. Collins is in a medically-induced coma and is reported to be in serious condition.
Approx. 11:25 a.m., Thursday, March 12
Police reopen Mercer Court after canvassing the small dead-end block for nearly 12 hours.
Approx. 1:45 p.m., Thursday, March 12
Leftenant is transported from the Third Precinct to First District Court in Central Islip, where he is arraigned on the charge of attempted aggravated murder of a police officer. Before a packed courtroom filled with police officers, Leftenant is ordered held without bail.
Friday, March 13
Suffolk County Police confirm Collins has been taken out of a coma and has been upgraded to fair condition.
Officials report “remarkable progress” in Collins’ recovery, and announce he will be released from Stony Brook at noon Sunday.
Sunday, March 15
Collins is given a hero’s salute by lawmakers and his police family and lawmakers as he is released from Stony Brook University Medical Center.
