A "distraught and depressed" man who thought he had been cheated out of an investment went to the home of his former business associate on Staten Island and opened fire Tuesday -- killing one person and wounding another -- before he was shot and killed in a confrontation with police, law enforcement officials said.
Detectives learned from the family of the suspect, identified as 48-year-old Ilya Iglanov, that Iglanov was upset because he believed his former business partner, Semytom Levin, had cheated him of savings invested in a patented design for a military grade flashlight, officials told NBC New York.
The violence broke out around 12:30 p.m. when Iglanov showed up at the home of Levin and his wife, Marina Tartakovskaya, on Collyer Avenue in the Huguenot section, police said. The suspect had recently been cut out of the couple’s website business, officials said.
Tartakovskaya answered the door to Iglanov, who then shot her in the the torso with a .25 caliber semi-automatic pistol, police said. A wounded Tartakovskaya and her frightened housekeeper ran into the street to get help and asked a passing neighbor to call police.
Iglanov then put his gun to the head of the neighbor who had been asked to call police, the NYPD said in a statement. He pulled the trigger, but the gun jammed, police said.
Iglanov then returned to the home and fatally shot 52-year-old Levin.
Officers eventually discovered the suspect barricaded in a closet in the basement.
Police said he ignored commands to drop his loaded handgun, which he had pointed at his head, and they fired, killing him. It's not clear how many shots were fired. Police said Iglanov was pulling the trigger, with no success, when they found him.
The shooting officer is 37 years old, and is a 14-year veteran of the force with no prior shootings, the NYPD said.
Neighbors said they were surprised to hear of the violence on the normally quiet street in the neighborhood of Huguenot.
Resident George Maneatas, who knew the wounded couple, said they were "good neighbors, friendly people."
Tartakovskaya is in stable condition at Staten Island University Hospital, officials said.
