Middle Island Man Charged After Aiming Rifle At Police: Cops

Updated 12:35 p.m. Thursday: MIDDLE ISLAND, NY — Christopher Malerba, 49, of Middle Island, was charged with menacing a police officer (a class D felony), Suffolk police said Thursday. He will be arraigned at a later date. The charge came after an investigation by Homicide Squad detectives, police said.

MIDDLE ISLAND, NY — Police shot a 49-year-old man who they say barricaded himself inside a Middle Island home Wednesday before leaving the house and pointing a rifle at officers, Suffolk County police told Patch.

Officers raced to a Bailey Road home shortly after 2:20 p.m. when a concerned 911 caller said the man, Christopher Malerba, threatened to kill himself and others, police said. Police, including members of the Hostage Negotiation Team, spoke with Malerba before he left the home and pointed his gun at officers, police said. Officers opened fire, hitting Malerba, and he retreated into the home, police said.

Shortly after, Malerba re-emerged from the house without his rifle, and he was taken into custody with "the use of less than lethal weapons" around 5 p.m., police said. He was taken to Stony Brook University Hospital in stable condition. No one else was injured.

Police are asking anyone with information on this incident to contact Homicide Squad detectives at 631-852-6392.