A young woman’s return to a former love’s house to drop off his belongings ended in a tragic burst of violence — and now tragedy has rippled across families and a Long Island community.
On the morning of Wednesday, Nov. 26, at about 11:10 a.m., 18-year-old Emily Finn from West Sayville arrived at a home on 134 Shenandoah Blvd. North in Nesconset. Police said she had come to return items to her 17-year-old ex-boyfriend after a recent breakup.
According to investigators, when she got there the teen — whose name is not being released because of his age — pulled out a shotgun and fired. Emily was struck and died at the scene. Immediately afterward, the 17-year-old turned the gun on himself and shot himself in the face.
Emily’s death stunned the quiet suburb. Police arrived after her ex’s parents called 911, having heard the shots while outside working in the backyard.
The teen survived and was rushed to Stony Brook University Hospital in critical but stable condition, police said. Soon after he recovers enough, he will face charges: authorities plan to charge him with second-degree murder.
Friends, neighbors and classmates described Emily as a cheerful 2025 graduate of Sayville High School, recently beginning her freshman year at State University of New York at Oneonta (SUNY Oneonta), where she planned to study childhood or elementary education with a dance minor, according to her social media.
Investigators say there was no previous history of reported domestic violence between them — making the burst of lethal anger all the more shocking.
Now, just a day before the Thanksgiving holiday, what was supposed to be a routine visit to return belongings has turned into a family’s worst nightmare — and left a community grappling with deep sorrow and painful questions about heartbreak, grief, and gun violence.
