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Maspeth woman still alive after shot in head

Maspeth woman still alive after shot in head
Photo by Joe Anuta
By Joe Anuta

A 22-year-old Maspeth man was arrested and charged with allegedly shooting a woman in the head Monday night, police said.

Elijah Stamateris was charged Tuesday with assault, criminal possession of a weapon and reckless endangerment, according to the NYPD.

The 21-year-old woman, whose name was not released, was in critical condition in Elmhurst Hospital after the shooting, which took place around 9:30 p.m. Monday, the NYPD said.

Police responded to the scene on 51st Avenue between 64th and 65th streets, near the border of Woodside, following the shooting and took one man into custody, the NYPD said.

A neighbor said that someone in his house had heard arguing near the corner of 51st Avenue and 64th Street before the shooting.

Although the neighbor did not hear a shot, he heard a man say something to the effect of “I messed up” and then saw him flee into an alley behind 50-43 64th St. and enter into a basement door of the residence.

Police and ambulance responded to the scene, according to the neighbor, who saw medics lift the woman into the ambulance and police break down the basement door in the back of the house.

The neighbor did not see the woman’s face, and did not recognize either of the men, one of whom was sitting in a patrol car and another who was standing in handcuffs near the scene, as being from the neighborhood.

NYPD officers were still stationed at the scene near the alley Tuesday afternoon. Along 51st Avenue, where the neighbor said the woman was loaded into the ambulance, discarded rubber gloves, gauze pads and bandages littered the street and sidewalk amid what appeared to be dark blood stains.

The shooting took place a little more than a block from the home of a Queens congressman.

U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-Jackson Heights), who also has a house in Virginia, was working in Washington, D.C., in the evening before the shooting and was not in the borough.

“I spoke with the police commander overseeing this case, and the authorities do believe this was an isolated incident. Woodside is a tight-knit community and this kind of violence is unacceptable,” Crowley said in a statement. “I am confident the police will bring to justice those who committed this senseless shooting and, in the meantime, I hope the community will join me in praying for the victim, her family and friends.”

Other neighbors walking their dogs through the neighborhood said the shooting was highly unusual for the relatively crime-free area.

“I’m shocked,” said one woman. “It’s a very quiet neighborhood and it’s stuff like this that destroys it.”

Another person milling around the crime scene — the front and back of the house where one of the suspects reportedly ran were still blocked off with police tape the day after — said the shooting was a tragedy since the victim was so young.

Reach reporter Joe Anuta by e-mail at januta@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.