Police Officer Mistakenly Killed Hofstra University Student in Hostage Standoff

May 18, 2013

A 21-year-old Hofstra University student who was killed in a home invasion on Friday was mistakenly shot in the head by an officer who fired eight times at a man who was holding a gun to the student’s head and then pointed it at him, the police said on Saturday. Seven of the bullets hit the man, who was also killed.

www.nytimes.com...

The student, Andrea Rebello, and her twin sister, Jessica, were among several people taken hostage on Friday morning in an apparent robbery attempt.

The police, who had been alerted to the invasion by one of the people who had escaped, initially thought that only Mr. Smith, the suspect, remained in the house.

Ms. Rebello was taken to the hospital, where she died. Mr. Smith’s weapon, a 9-millimeter handgun, had one bullet in the chamber and another in the magazine, Detective Azzata said. He never fired a shot.

Mr.Smith has a criminal history and was out on parole, which he failed to check in on April 25th with his parole officer.




My thoughts and prayers are with the family.......

---------------

ETA: More information:
Cops fired bullet that killed Hofstra student Andrea Rebello during botched robbery

She's a pretty young thing....R.I.P.

Evidently one of the boyfriends left the front door open to go to the car and the cops said it was a crime of opportunity for Mr.Smith.......

Hat's off to the police for, once again, making a bad situation worse.

Originally posted by Visitor2012
Hat's off to the police for, once again, making a bad situation worse.

Right..i see...

Suspect points a gun at you ..I am sure you would have kindly asked him to stop or maybe you would have gone Jack Bauer on him and shot him in the hand disarming him..cause that's realistic.

I love the arm chair captains on ATS.


"Authorities say Smith, who was wearing a mask, invaded the home Rebello shared with her twin sister and two others during the pre-dawn hours on Friday.
At some point, a female roommate of the twins was able to leave the home and call police, a police spokesman told CNN on Friday.
When a police officer arrived, Smith was holding a gun to Rebello's head, Roach said.
He told the officer he was going to kill Rebello, and then turned the handgun toward the officer, she said.
The officer, fearing for his life, drew his gun and fired, Roach said."

reply to post by snarky412


It is not correct to say that he "mistakenly" killed the young girl.

When the officer triggered off eight shots, he was shooting for a total of two to three seconds in an out-of-controlled manner especially when the target was within inches of critical areas of the innocent victim.

That killing was allowable, understandable and evidently acceptable under his standards which by police training (frequently from off-shore training programs) allows him to blast away to "save" his own life at all costs. Such training puts zero value on another person's lives and 100% upon himself. Police used to aspire to a higher standard for themselves.

reply to post by opethPA


you should read Aliensun's post following yours
and rethink yours.

unless you are "sane" of course, in which case nothing will help

such a sad story,

I really hope this doesn't turn into a "lets all have the police officer on death row for murder" type of thread.

I really do feel for this poor girls family

but at the same time i feel for the police officer, he (or she) put himself in harms way to save the lives of those who were held hostage and in the end he killed one of those he was trying to save and now has to live with the consequences of his actions his actions for the rest of his life.

I am no fan of the police, but i really hope the Ant-police force on ATS doesn't crawl out of the woodwork and bash this police officer like they would bash the police officers we see on YouTube attacking people just for the hell of it and abusing their power.

Yes there are many in the police who abuse their power, but I really hope that the message that comes from this thread is one of sorrow and empathy for the family firstly but also for this officer who now has this death to live with forever.

again such a sad story.

Originally posted by TheMagus
reply to post by opethPA

 

you should read Aliensun's post following yours
and rethink yours.

unless you are "sane" of course, in which case nothing will help

Except it's easy for everyone to sit here and say ,"it should have been done this way"

All the people that think they would have only used 2 shots when your life was at risk let me know next time you are in a situation like that.

1 person and 1 person only is accountable for this horrible story and that is the criminal that decided to break the law. The officer didn't choose to be in that situation, the victim didn't, the roommate that escaped and called the police didn't. The felon caused this problem and no one else.

reply to post by opethPA


ROFL

definitely "sane"
and only concerned with justifying and letting the officer off the hook

another poster actually goes so far as to praise the officer, hopefully a police-person doesn't kill him or a loved one,

and you immorally blame the criminal, for the officers actions

because said police -person "was afraid".
police used to be able to de-escalate such situations.

as has been pointed out to you they are now trained to the contrary.

but "sane" as you are...


reply to post by opethPA



a3rd life ruined? paid leave for 2 weeks? how is that "ruined"?

"shoot 'em all, let [insert deity] sort 'em out"
same "sane" argument used to justify collateral damage

definitely an incurable case, no doubts now.

Originally posted by TheMagus
reply to post by opethPA

 

ROFL

definitely "sane"
and only concerned with justifying and letting the officer off the hook

another poster actually goes so far as to praise the officer, hopefully a police-person doesn't kill him or a loved one,

and you immorally blame the criminal, for the officers actions

because said police -person "was afraid".
police used to be able to de-escalate such situations.

as has been pointed out to you they are now trained to the contrary.

but "sane" as you are...

Yes..that's it , I immorally blame the criminal and not the officer.
Good thing the criminal didn't cause the situation like I said, also a good thing he didn't point a gun to the victims head.

Oh wait, I bet you think the criminal is the victim in this case.

Finally yup, you are right police used to be able to de-escalate such situations but good thing that people as a whole are not more desperate then they were in the past.

I'll stick to what is being reported as the facts and you can call me sane or insane or whatever. If the criminal didn't cause this situation then 2 people would still be alive and a 3 life would not be ruined.

reply to post by OtherSideOfTheCoin

but at the same time i feel for the police officer, he (or she) put himself in harms way to save the lives of those who were held hostage and in the end he killed one of those he was trying to save and now has to live with the consequences of his actions his actions for the rest of his life.

Me too....
He will have to live with the guilt for the rest of his life.
Cops are human like the rest of us.
No cop wants this kind of blood on their hands.

Any criminal knows it's suicide to point a gun at a cop.
What do they think is gonna happen??

'Suicide by cop' is what it's called.
Many criminals choose this way out instead of going back to prison.
And this guy had a rap sheet.
Violated his parole...

Some times I wonder if in training, along with 'shoot to kill' when threatened, if they ought to also teach how to shoot to 'disable', like in the leg/arm etc., especially in a hostage situation.

Sad situation regardless.......

reply to post by opethPA

1 person and 1 person only is accountable for this horrible story and that is the criminal that decided to break the law. The officer didn't choose to be in that situation, the victim didn't, the roommate that escaped and called the police didn't. The felon caused this problem and no one else.

I know I am going to get flamed for this, but......you are correct.

I hate the way society wants to place the blame every where else except at the perpetrators feet.


It wasn't the boys fault for leaving the door open....
It wasn't the cops fault that the gunman threatened to shoot him by pointing the gun at him.....
It wasn't any of the hostages fault......

Only one person is to blame for this fiasco.......
--MR.SMITH--

The boy will have guilt for leaving the door open..........[Crime of Opportunity]
The cop will have guilt for his actions, which he had no choice once a gun was pointed at him....

Mr.Smith's actions is what caused all this and is the only one to blame.

reply to post by snarky412

I would agree with anyone who believed there should have been a hostage crisis team on site to handle the situation OR at least establish sharpshooters and safe parameters prior to the cops rushing in to fugg things up.

Sadly, while we armchair QB this story, the family and friends of the victim suffers.

reply to post by snarky412




Just 21 years old with a full life ahead of her. Never would have happened this way with old school cops. IMO.

reply to post by snarky412

I hate the way society wants to place the blame every where else except

I'm not gonna flame you but, what if the cops just decided it's in
their best interest to take out the victim and the perp ?

reply to post by randyvs

I'm not gonna flame you but, what if the cops just decided it's in their best interest to take out the victim and the perp ?

It's hard for me to say what a person feels when a gun is being pointed at them.
It's easy for me to say, 'yeah, the cop should of done this or should have done that' but I wasn't there.
Which means I really can't sit in judgement of the man.

It sounded like the situation escalated very fast, and when the perp pointed the gun at the cop, well.....
I still lay the blame on Mr.Smith, he should have never tried to rob them.
Had he never been there, we wouldn't be talking about this right now.

This will be with cop the rest of his life, knowing he killed some one's daughter/sister.
And if he has kids, it will hit very close to home for him.
I would not want to be in his shoes.......

Originally posted by snarky412
I hate the way society wants to place the blame every where else except at the perpetrators feet.

classic, textbook C.D.:shk:

the fact that you can say such a thing...
and not realize...

proves you're even "saner" than OpethPA:shk:
[or you're a LEO,

not sure which is worse.]


deep down OpethPA knows s/he is wrong, hence the attempt to justify

so perhaps in his/her case there may be hope.

:shk:amazing the amount of fascist/sociopath coughing !!
i mean "sanity" to be found herein

Originally posted by TheMagus

Originally posted by snarky412
I hate the way society wants to place the blame every where else except at the perpetrators feet.

classic, textbook C.D.:shk:

the fact that you can say such a thing...
and not realize...

proves you're even "saner" than OpethPA:shk:
[or you're a LEO,

not sure which is worse.]


deep down OpethPA knows s/he is wrong, hence the attempt to justify

so perhaps in his/her case there may be hope.

:shk:amazing the amount of fascist/sociopath coughing !!
i mean "sanity" to be found herein

edit on 19-5-2013 by TheMagus because: (no reason given)

What's your point????

Had Mr.Smith not tried to rob them [home invasion] then this situation would have never transpired.

You are not even mentioning what caused this to begin with.
All every one wants to do is instantly jump on the cop for his actions which were actually a re-action to Mr.Smith pointing the gun at him.

That's the whole point to my comment:
I hate the way society wants to place the blame every where else except at the perpetrators feet.

You are part of the society that over looks the person that is at fault [Mr.Smith].
The sole person responsible
He was the one that started this domino effect.

But you would rather jump on a cop instead of the criminal that started all of this.
You are skirting around the issue at hand....who caused this to begin with?

It wasn't the cop, that's for sure. He had to be called to the scene.....WHY??
Because some SOB decided to rob a house when the door was left open.

Hey, while you're at it, why don't you blame the boy who left the door open. I mean, while you're placing blame every where except where it belongs, had he not left the door open, the criminal might not have ever thought to enter the house.

I never have defended the cop, only merely stated that he will have to live with the guilt of his tragedy.

But with every action is a re-action.
Cause and affect...

The SOB should have never entered the house...........
He should never had used that girl for a hostage [shield].
He should never had pointed a gun at a cop......[duh]
Plain and simple...

Mr.Smith is the only one to blame for this tragedy.

I'm sorry the cop was put in a position to have to shoot.
And my prayers go out to the family of the pretty girl that was killed because some low life SOB picked their house to rob and used her as a human shield.

Originally posted by snarky412

Originally posted by TheMagus

Originally posted by snarky412
I hate the way society wants to place the blame every where else except at the perpetrators feet.

classic, textbook C.D.:shk:

the fact that you can say such a thing...
and not realize...

proves you're even "saner" than OpethPA:shk:
[or you're a LEO,

not sure which is worse.]


deep down OpethPA knows s/he is wrong, hence the attempt to justify

so perhaps in his/her case there may be hope.

:shk:amazing the amount of fascist/sociopath coughing !!
i mean "sanity" to be found herein

edit on 19-5-2013 by TheMagus because: (no reason given)

1- What's your point????

Had Mr.Smith not tried to rob them [home invasion] then this situation would have never transpired.

You are not even mentioning what caused this to begin with.
All every one wants to do is instantly jump on the cop for his actions which were actually a re-action to Mr.Smith pointing the gun at him.

That's the whole point to my comment:
I hate the way society wants to place the blame every where else except at the perpetrators feet.

You are part of the society that over looks the person that is at fault [Mr.Smith].
The sole person responsible
He was the one that started this domino effect.

But you would rather jump on a cop instead of the criminal that started all of this.
You are skirting around the issue at hand....who caused this to begin with?

It wasn't the cop, that's for sure. He had to be called to the scene.....WHY??
Because some SOB decided to rob a house when the door was left open.

Hey, while you're at it, why don't you blame the boy who left the door open. I mean, while you're placing blame every where except where it belongs, had he not left the door open, the criminal might not have ever thought to enter the house.

I never have defended the cop, only merely stated that he will have to live with the guilt of his tragedy.

But with every action is a re-action.
Cause and affect...

The SOB should have never entered the house...........

He should never had used that girl for a hostage [shield].
He should never had pointed a gun at a cop......[duh]
Plain and simple...

Mr.Smith is the only one to blame for this tragedy.

I'm sorry the cop was put in a position to have to shoot.
And my prayers go out to the family of the pretty girl that was killed because some low life SOB picked their house to rob and used her as a human shield.

who fired 8 shots at a man with a human shield?
"because he was afraid"

have you read the article?

The friend headed for a bank in her car — and called 911. Read more: www.nydailynews.com...

i'd say quite a few people, including mr smith, are responsible for this young ladies death beginning with the fool who left the door unlocked but let's blame the conveniently dead criminal, which the article calls hulking [if he were a marine would they use such terms?]*, and you call a lowlife who probably had a mom or kids somewhere, not that clean cut mainstream "sanesters" give a damn while keeping up with the joneses] lying there along with the dead hostage

all because of prick-waving, valuing "stuff" over lives
and a "i'm a cowardly weakling, so lets call another bunch of cowardly weaklings
who have guns and will shoot at their own shadows if it just happens to scare them

not to mention the typically 'murican "go for the win" attitude
" now that i've saved my own skin and am safe let's sit back and call the authorities! hell yeah!!!"

you're not defending/justifying/whitewashing?
pull the other one...

and that cop isn't going to be feeling guilty at all, nor will he ever held accountable on this plane.
he would not be a cop otherwise [and NYPD to boot, NY's lowest]

i note also that randyvs' post just flew right over your head
to the sound of crickets


and that is as far as i intend to go with "sane" people
because if it has to be explained...

*no offense is implied against marines here

Originally posted by opethPA

Originally posted by Visitor2012
Hat's off to the police for, once again, making a bad situation worse.

Right..i see...

Suspect points a gun at you ..I am sure you would have kindly asked him to stop or maybe you would have gone Jack Bauer on him and shot him in the hand disarming him..cause that's realistic.

I love the arm chair captains on ATS.


"Authorities say Smith, who was wearing a mask, invaded the home Rebello shared with her twin sister and two others during the pre-dawn hours on Friday.
At some point, a female roommate of the twins was able to leave the home and call police, a police spokesman told CNN on Friday.
When a police officer arrived, Smith was holding a gun to Rebello's head, Roach said.
He told the officer he was going to kill Rebello, and then turned the handgun toward the officer, she said.
The officer, fearing for his life, drew his gun and fired, Roach said."

edit on 18-5-2013 by opethPA because: (no reason given)

Did he really need to fire so many times?

reply to post by TheMagus

and that cop isn't going to be feeling guilty at all, nor will he ever held accountable on this plane. he would not be a cop otherwise [and NYPD to boot, NY's lowest]

You are just being a horses arse now....
Need to control your temper and stop being so damn RUDE!

You definitely got a chip on your shoulder...
Can't even have a civilized debate with you.
Sounds like you got a grudge against cops and every one else.

Take a chill pill and calm down....
We both have different takes on this that's for sure but no need to be nasty about it......

I still blame the perp for causing this tragedy......
If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't be having this, uh, so-called discussion.


And if the stupid SOB had a gun pointed at me threatening me like that?
Damn straight I'd unload my pistol on him.
But, of course, I have to buy one first.

So who am I to say what a person would /should have done ?
I can't and hope I'm never put in a situation like that to find out.

But I will not sit in judgement of the cop nor do I believe he enjoyed it, as you are implying.
That's just ludicrous .....

Not all cops are bad people

What a coward to take the shot. He probably went on autopilot and shot at the bad guy's center mass.....right where her head was. Better to have taken a bullet for her even tho the perp was probably just trying to make the cop back away....to shoot at the cop would have been to fulfill a death wish anyway (he just wanted to escape alive).