Long Island Rail Road Shooter Tried to Incite Prison Riot: Court

A New York court says the gunman who killed six and wounded 19 people on the Long Island Rail Road 20 years ago tried to incite a deadly riot at an upstate prison.

The Appellate Division justices say videotape, testimony and a prison misbehavior report provide substantial evidence that Colin Ferguson threatened violence and conspired to riot.

A corrections officer reported hearing the 56-year-old inmate encouraging others to riot and use weapons to kill guards.

Ferguson is now at Upstate Correctional Facility in Malone, N.Y., not far from the Canadian border.

In addition to six consecutive terms of 25 years to life, he received the maximum of 50 years for 19 counts of attempted murder, two weapons charges and one of reckless endangerment. He is eligible for parole in 2309.

He boarded an LIRR train in Queens on Dec. 7, 1993, fired methodically over several minutes, reloading at least once, before he was tackled by passengers.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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