Two brothers were found shot to death in the basement of a Hempstead home Wednesday morning, police say, in a killing that has stunned a village that had gone half a year without a single reported shooting. Village of Hempstead officers responded to 16 Angevine Ave. after a 911 call came in at 10:34 a.m. reporting two unresponsive men, and found the brothers, ages 34 and 39, dead in the basement of the home.
According to CBS News New York, the men were shot while sleeping, and the gun violence is believed to have occurred Wednesday morning inside the basement of the residence. Once officers confirmed the deaths, the Nassau County Police Homicide Squad took over the investigation, a standard jurisdictional handoff for capital murder cases that occur within local village borders, as reported by Newsday. Village of Hempstead Police Chief Richard Holland confirmed on scene that both victims died from gunshot wounds, and Nassau County and village police cordoned off the block using yellow crime scene tape and patrol cruisers, per the same account.
The home where the shooting occurred is a 1,941-square-foot single-family house built in 1969, according to property records reviewed by Realtor.com. Detectives have not said whether there was any sign of forced entry, and CBS News New York reports that key questions remain unanswered, including the identities of any suspects and a possible motive for the shooting.
A Rare Stretch Without Gunfire, Interrupted
The killings arrive just as Hempstead had been marking a notable public safety milestone. Herald Community Newspapers reports that, according to New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services data, the Village of Hempstead recorded zero shootings during the first six months of 2026, down from four shootings over the same period in 2025. Local officials had previously credited that decline to proactive policing and community engagement efforts, per the outlet.
Nassau County as a whole has not seen the same steep drop. State Division of Criminal Justice Services GIVE program statistics compiled in April showed the county recorded five total shooting incidents in the first quarter of 2026, matching its five-year average from 2021 through 2025, according to Long Island Life & Politics. A separate analysis from Koch Law puts Nassau County's overall violent crime rate at roughly 150 incidents per 100,000 residents annually, though the firm notes that violent crime volume varies significantly across specific municipalities like Hempstead compared with surrounding suburban towns.
Coming a Day After Another Hempstead Sentencing
The double homicide lands just one day after an 18-year-old Baldwin resident was sentenced in Nassau County Supreme Court to 20 years to life in prison for a November 2025 fatal shooting that killed a 19-year-old college basketball player outside a Hempstead house party on Willow Avenue, Long Island Life & Politics reported. That earlier case, which Hoodline covered in a sentencing report Tuesday, drew significant regional attention across Long Island. There is no indication in available reporting that the Willow Avenue case and the Angevine Avenue shooting are connected, and investigators have not suggested any link between the two.
It's also not the first violent case Nassau County Homicide Squad detectives have moved on this month. On August 4, detectives announced the arrests of three suspects, ages 21, 20 and 17, charged with second-degree murder in a June fatal stabbing on Fulton Avenue in Hempstead, according to the Nassau County Police Department. Under New York Penal Law § 125.25, murder in the second degree is a Class A-I felony carrying a mandatory sentence of 15 to 25 years to life upon conviction, provided intent or depraved indifference is proven.
No Arrests Yet as Investigation Continues
No arrests have been announced in the Angevine Avenue shooting, and Nassau County investigators have released limited details beyond confirming the ages of the victims and that they were shot while sleeping. Anyone with information is asked to contact Nassau County Crime Stoppers, which offers cash rewards of up to $5,000 for anonymous tips that lead to an arrest and indictment in open homicide cases, submitted through 1-800-244-TIPS or online, according to the Nassau County Police Department. Tips are routed directly to the detectives assigned to the case.
