Brooklyn Auto Shop Shooter Commits Suicide By Cop

A .38 caliber handgun recovered in the backseat of the livery cab.

Armed with two loaded pistols, 45-year-old Carl Lastorino of Brooklyn stormed into Peter’s Tire and Rim Shop in East New York yesterday just before 5 p.m. and screamed, "Peter, this is for you!" before opening fire, police say. The alleged recipient of Lastorino's largess was presumably the shop's owner, 49-year-old Peter Argentina, who was shot once in the right shoulder and once in the right hand. Fortunately, he's in stable condition at Brookdale University Hospital. Lastorino, on the other hand, is dead.

After the shooting, police say Lastorino bolted out of the shop and flagged a livery cab several blocks south on Flatlands Avenue. He had just tossed his jacket and one of the revolvers into the back of the car when a police van pulled up and two officers commanded him to drop the other gun. Instead, Lastorino yelled, "You’re not taking me alive," according to NYPD spokesman Paul Browne.

The two cops, a sergeant and a police officer, opened fire, striking him twice in the chest, the Times reports. Police say that the gun in his hand did not have any live rounds, just spent casings, and at a press conference last night, Browne speculated, "We think he may have, in his confusion, thrown the loaded gun into the car." It's unclear what Lastorino's motive was, and a man who answered the phone at Peter’s Tire and Rim Shop hung up when we asked about the incident.

The Daily News notes that "in the 75th Precinct, which covers East New York, 54 people have been wounded in 39 shootings this year—a 21% spike over the 32 shootings logged last year at this time."

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By John Del Signore in News on June 21, 2011 9:42 AM

Comments [rss]

Guest

What a scumbag. The guy wants to commit suicide so what does he do?
Shoots somebody else. Rotten fuck. Typical NY.

ONE_LESS_FIXED_GEAR

Ready, Fire, Aim.

chuzzlewit

"you can't fire me, I QUIT!"

ONE_LESS_FIXED_GEAR

Totally ironic that his revenge shooting was an epic fail, but the suicide attempt was sucessful. Love that.

Guest

"You're not taking me alive"
Was he wearing a fedora and calling them coppers, too?

SonnyBobiche

"Top of the World, Ma!"

ONE_LESS_FIXED_GEAR

"Oho...he's hiding in the stove, eh?"

Dirk

Is this really suicide by cop?

FU Boy

Shout "You're not taking me alive" and not dropping a gun when two cops have you in their sights?

Yeah, that's suicide by cop.

petey2

Except that he had 2 guns, and threw the loaded 1 into the back of the livery cab, and held onto the one that he had already used to shoot the shop owner. I think he had every intention of shooting the cop & sergeant, and escaping, rather than dying.

FU Boy

Because, loaded gun or not, getting into a shootout with the NYPD would have resulted in him NOT getting killed? If he had gotten off a shot, you think the PD would have just said 'eh, he shot at us then got away'. No - every boy in blue would have been ready to hunt him down.

He might not have thought of dying by the police's hand when the day started - but once they confronted him, he made the choice to go out in a blaze of glory. That, to me, is suicide by cop.

Dirk

That's why I didn't really think this was suicide by cop. Seems like he wanted to shoot his way out.

FU Boy

"Shoot his way out" against the NYPD. You seriously don't see that as suicidal?

Guest

so instead of saying, "You’re not taking me alive,"

maybe he should have said, "i'm going to shoot you all and get out of here alive!"

...i dunno (shrug), it's something i've learned from some weird motivation seminar: state the positive, forget the negative, something something.