A retired NYPD officer reportedly shot his two sons before taking his own life late Sunday night. Irvin Noak, 61, opened fire on Irvin Noak III, 30, and Aaron Noak, 22, inside the family's North Bellport home after getting into an argument with guests gathered there for a party, Newsday reports. All three wounded men were rushed to Brookhaven Memorial Hospital in East Patchogue, Long Island, where the elder Noak was later pronounced dead.
Noak, a 27-year veteran of the NYPD, joined the department in 1982, according to the Daily News.
Both sons were treated for critical injuries at Brookhaven Hospital and are expected to recover. In the hours following the shooting, which occurred around 11 p.m., the News describes the Noak residence as a grisly scene of dried blood spattered amongst empty beer bottles and lawn chairs.
“There was never a fight in that house. The real question here is, What went wrong?” a neighbor wondered aloud to the tabloid. “The father was the nicest, kindest guy.”
“A very good family and all that,” an unidentified neighbor told Newsday. “A very respected guy. He went out of his way to say hello. I talked to him last week at the mailbox. He said hello to me. . . . He said something as a typical cop would say, he says, ‘I’m looking out for you. I got your back.’ That’s how he was.” Newsday reports that another one of Noak's sons is an active NYPD officer who was present during the shooting but was not harmed.
