LI Bloods Gang Member Admits To Opening Fire On Mourners: Authorities

RIVERSIDE, NY — An alleged Bloods gang member pleaded guilty to second-degree attempted murder and other related charges in connection with opening fire at a candlelight vigil in Bellport in July 2023, Suffolk DA Ray Tierney said Friday.

Reid was also convicted of second-degree assault for his unprovoked attack on a corrections officer in December 2023 while in custody on the charges related to the July 2023 attempted murder incident, Tierney's office.

On July 6, 2023, more than 100 people gathered in Bellport to celebrate the life of a community member who had tragically died in a motorcycle accident days before, and at the end of the candlelight vigil, Steven Reid, 27, of Calverton, became involved in a physical altercation with another man, prosecutors said.

Reid pulled out a gun and shot the man at point-blank range in the upper right thigh, with the bullet shattering the man’s femur, passing through his leg, and lodging into his right
shin, according to prosecutors.

Other vigil attendees placed a tourniquet on the man’s leg and rushed him to the hospital where he underwent emergency orthopedic surgery to replace his shattered femur with metal rods and pins, prosecutors said.

Minutes later, Reid followed the dispersing crowd and opened fire on another group of vigil attendees, prosecutors said, adding that Reid allegedly shot at one man from close range, and he suffered four gunshot wounds, including to his back, shoulder, and both of his legs.

Reid opened fire at a woman two times and then shot at another group of people,
including a woman and a nine-year old boy, as they were running away to a nearby home, prosecutors said.

He fled the county and was apprehended in North Carolina in September 2023, and was
brought back to face charges, prosecutors said, adding that on Dec. 19, 2023, while in custody at the Suffolk County Correctional Facility, Reid assaulted a 26-year-old officer by hitting
the officer several times without provocation.

Tierney said Reid "viciously opened fire on an unsuspecting community gathered to mourn the loss of a loved one."

“The defendant then continued his violent behavior while in custody, assaulting an unsuspecting Corrections Officer just trying to do his job," he said. "This conviction sends a message that my office will prosecute gun violence in our community and violence against our law enforcement partners to the fullest extent.”

Suffolk Sheriff Errol Toulon thanked Tierney's office for its swift work in convicting Reid and referred to Reid's crimes as "heinous."

"Corrections is not an easy job and people sometimes underestimate the dangers we deal with each day," he said.

Reid also pleaded guilty to second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, and second-degree assault.

He is due back in court for sentencing on May 22, and is expected to be sentenced to 14
years in prison followed by five years of post-release supervision.

His attorney, Eric Pack of Glen Cove, could not be immediately reached for comment.

His other counsel representing him on the charges, the Suffolk County Legal Aid Society, does not comment on criminal cases.