A suspected burglar has been found dead and another is in custody following a police shootout at a Long Island home, authorities said.
A relative of the terrorized family told NBC New York Tuesday evening they were still shaken by the gun battle that played out inside their home.
"My heart is still trembling," said Surjit Singh, a nephew of the family. "We are still feeling bad."
The dead suspect, identified as 37-year-old Timothy Capers of Queens, was found in a home in North Valley Stream following the incident Monday night. Nassau County Police said Capers shot himself.
Another suspect, identified as 47-year-old Levi Robinson of Jamaica, Queens, was taken into police custody.
It's unclear how many additional suspects, if any, police are seeking at this time.
The chaos began when 15 squad cars, a helicopter and a canine unit responded to the house after someone called 911 reporting a burglary in progress just after 9:15 p.m. Monday, authorities said.
Deputy Inspector Kenneth Lack said multiple suspects began running out of the house and shot at officers when they arrived. The officers returned fire.
"There was a lot of gunfire at once," said neighbor Gail Gonzalez. "[My husband] was at the kitchen at one point and he was yelling 'Get down, get down.'"
Luz Pena said her granddaughters began crying when they observed the chaos outside their home. "The commotion was too much for them, and the shock," said Pena. "And we telling them go hide."
No officers were injured in the fracas, but several were taken to a hospital for non-life threatening injuries and psychiatric evaluation.
"The heroic actions of all the responding officers certainly saved the occupants from extraordinarily dangerous armed individuals," said Lt. Azzata.
Six members of the Singh family were in the home at the time of the attempted burglary, including two children and four adults. They were all unharmed, authorities said.
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Investigators said the Singh family owns liquor stores in the area, and may have been targeted.
Robinson, the suspect who was taken into custody at the scene, was charged with first-degree robbery, two counts of first-degree burglary and four counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. He is expected to be arraigned at First District Court in Hempstead Wednesday. Attorney information was not immediately available.
The investigation is ongoing.
