NEWS: War games end in stupidity
Pete Moss
Man fatally shoots friend, 17, police say
http://www.newsday.com/mynews/ny-lishot082659904apr08001421.story
By Bart Jones
STAFF WRITER
April 8, 2002
A Mastic Beach teenager was shot and killed by one of his best friends in an
apparent accident while they were conducting a mock commando-style raid led by
another friend, a U.S. Marine, police said yesterday.
Fred Reinhart, 17, a William Floyd High School student, was shot in the head
Saturday about 5:50 p.m. in the Coram apartment of Christopher Smith, 22, a
lance corporal in the Marines, Suffolk County police said.
Reinhart's longtime neighbor, William Nicosia, 19, fired a 9-mm rifle during
the mock raid, killing his friend, police said. Reinhart was pronounced dead at
the scene.
No charges were filed against Nicosia, who lives on Edgewater Drive. Det. Sgt.
Edward Light of the Suffolk County homicide squad said an investigation was
continuing.
Authorities said the shooting appeared to be accidental, but a determination on
whether charges will be filed had not been made.
Police said Reinhart, who was active in ROTC at the high school, spent part of
Saturday target shooting with Nicosia, Smith and another friend, Mario DeLucia,
19, of Shirley, at the Calverton Range in Riverhead. Smith's wife, Rhonda, 22,
accompanied them.
When they finished shooting, they returned to Smith's apartment at 18
Northfield Dr. in Coram. There, they were cleaning their rifles when Smith
offered to show them "a technique he learned which was designed to clear a room
of potential targets," police said in a statement.
"He was trying to demonstrate the training he got from the Marine Corps," said
Light, who described it as a kind of Navy SEAL-style commando raid seen in
action movies. "Somehow during one of these demonstrations, his [Nicosia's]
weapon discharges."
Nicosia and Smith apparently were conducting the mock raid and Reinhart and
DeLucia were sitting on a couch when the rifle went off, police said.
Authorities said Smith is a recruiter in the Marine Corps' office in Patchogue.
Nicosia was active in the ROTC at William Floyd High School until he graduated
recently.
Reinhart's and Nicosia's neighbors said yesterday that they were stunned by the
shooting, which sent a shock wave through the neighborhood near the William
Floyd Estate and part of the Fire Island National Seashore.
"I can't believe one of them was shot," said a neighbor who identified himself
only as Tim.
Neighbors described Reinhart and Nicosia as young men enamored of military life
and action in a community where many boys aspire to become soldiers. The two
often wore combat fatigues and set up a kind of training ground on a wooded lot
behind Nicosia's house where they and friends engaged in mock combat using guns
that fired paint balls.
Strewn about the lot yesterday were branches, car tires (including one hung
from a tree with a rope), and the large orange and white plastic barrels used
to divert traffic on highways. Spraypainted on a wood fence were the words
"Amphibious assault."
"They love the Marine Corps and the Army. They were into that kind of stuff,"
said the neighbor, Tim.
Emotions were raw yesterday at Reinhart's and Nicosia's homes, and few people
wanted to speak to the media. One man standing outside Reinhart's house said
Reinhart had hoped to join the Marines after he graduated from high school.
One neighbor, Michael Smith, said Reinhart was a polite young man who often
rode his electric scooter up and down the street. Others said he liked to go
fishing in Moriches Bay at the end of the block.
"He was one of those all-American kids. He was not a troublemaker. He was a
friendly kid," Smith said.
Neighbors said they were saddened also by the fact Nicosia played a role,
albeit apparently an accidental one, in the death of one of his childhood
friends.
"I feel bad for Billy because that's something that's always going to be on his
shoulders," one neighbor said.