A state corrections officer shot and killed herself outside the Queens facility where she worked Tuesday, according to the NYPD.
Authorities say the unidentified woman was taken to Elmhurst Hospital after the 6:30 a.m. shooting outside Queensboro Correctional Facility on Van Dam Street, right behind LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City. Another corrections officer was also involved, according to the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, but no one was taken into custody.
NYPD officials say the gunshot was self-inflicted, but the circumstances surrounding the shooting remain unclear. NBC 4 New York video from the scene showed a car with a bullet hole so it appeared the deadly shot was not the only one fired.
Police and other law enforcement officers flooded the scene after the shooting, cordoning off the area with yellow caution tape and redirecting traffic.
State corrections officials called the shooting a "tragic incident," adding that facility security was never breached. It's operating on a modified schedule as a precaution.
A spokeswoman for LaGuardia Community College says the safety of its students, faculty and staff is paramount and that the school's public safety team is working with NYPD. The school was advised the scene was safe and secure, and so the campus remains open and classes are in session.
