He left no suicide note, but Jason Beller of Commack may have died exactly the way he wanted to: in a hail of police bullets, authorities said Thursday.
Committing "suicide by cop," or going on a shooting spree, or both, are among the possible motives that Nassau police said they are exploring.
"Was he looking to shoot people or to exchange gunfire with police?" said Det. Lt. Kevin Smith, a Nassau police spokesman. "We're looking into that. We also don't know why he was in Bellmore."
On Tuesday, the 31-year-old drove his truck into a pole on Bellmore Avenue, then wounded firefighter and EMT Justin Angell before being killed by police.
Nassau investigators have been in contact with Suffolk police, who said they received a call about a domestic disturbance at Beller's home at 8 p.m. on Tuesday.
The officer who responded noted that Beller's truck was at the home, but no one answered the door.
Two hours later, Beller crashed into a pole on Bellmore Avenue near Marion Street and then shot Angell as the firefighter tried to help him.
Three officers -- a K-9 handler with 15 years of experience on the force, and two Seventh Precinct patrol officers with three and five years of experience each -- became targets for Beller, who fired at least eight shots as he sat in the damaged Ford, police said.
The K-9 officer made his way to the passenger side of the truck and fired several shots through the window, killing Beller.
Smith said that while the shooting is under investigation, police are withholding the identities of the officers involved.
He added that preliminary assessments of the events, though, are showering praise on the three officers who responded to the scene and exchanged gunfire with Beller.
"Their actions were heroic," Smith said. "It appears that every officer did the right thing."
Late Wednesday, a man identifying himself as Beller's father, Dr. David Beller, made an unprompted phone call to the Seventh Precinct in Seaford, where two of the three officers involved in the gunfight are assigned, according to a department source.
"He called and apologized for his son's actions and for putting officers in that position," the source said. The father also said he knew cops and firefighters through his Manhattan oral surgery practice. "He said he was concerned about the officers and hoped they weren't injured too badly."
His family could not be reached for comment Thursday.
The shooting has sparked two parallel inquiries: a routine administrative review of the officers' actions, and a trace by federal officials of the source of the six guns that Nassau police found in Beller's vehicle.
Nassau cops said they have also asked police in Florida, where Beller once lived and where he obtained a gun permit, for information about his actions there. The serial numbers and other information will be entered into a federal database to be tracked back to the manufacturer, and if possible, the retailer.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
