Man slashed 3 with machete after trying to buy guns
PATCHOGUE, N.Y. — A Long Island man is facing assault and weapons charges for allegedly attacking three people with a machete at a sporting goods store.
Suffolk County police said Saturday that the attack occurred the previous afternoon at a Dick’s Sporting Goods store in Patchogue, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) east of New York City.
Treyvius Tunstall allegedly asked to buy rifles but walked away after he was asked to provide identification. According to police, he then slashed a store manager with a machete and attacked two other people as he fled.
The store manager suffered wounds to the torso, arms and head, Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison said Saturday. Prosecutors said Tunstall severed tendons in the store manager’s arms during the attack. Newsday reported.
The manager was treated at the scene by paramedics and taken to a hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
A customer was struck in the head by the back of the machete and a person in the parking lot was cut on the arm and shoulder, according to police. Both victims were treated at the scene for minor injuries.
Police apprehended Tunstall nearby. Through his court-appointed attorney, the 22-year-old West Babylon resident pleaded not guilty at a court appearance Saturday to three counts of assault and six weapons counts, and was ordered held on $400,000 cash bail or $800,000 bond.
According to Harrison, Tunstall had gone to a Dick’s store in Bay Shore, about 15 miles (25 kilometers) away, earlier in the afternoon and bought the machete, a knife and a backpack but was told to go to the Patchogue store if he wanted to purchase rifles.
Police hadn’t determined a motive for the attack, Harrison said.
