Privacy update — September 18, 2026: Identifying details have been removed under our victim privacy policy.
Incident location, Long Island
What Happened
A 25-year-old Shirley man was shot to death in a wooded area off Middle Country Road in Coram on the morning of Thursday, December 2, 2021, according to Patch. Officers were called to the woods behind a strip mall on Middle Country Road just before 10 a.m. after someone discovered the man had been shot.
According to Patch, the victim was transported from the scene to Stony Brook University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. A police spokeswoman confirmed a homicide investigation was underway, and the Suffolk County Police Department’s Homicide Squad was called in to lead the investigation. Initial reports were first published at 4:18 p.m. that Thursday and updated through the evening as details emerged.
The shooting was also documented in a post from news photographer account OnScenePhotography on social media, which stated that the Suffolk County Police Department’s 6th Precinct had responded to a subject “shot multiple times in the woods off Middle Country Road” and that the subject had been “rushed to hospital with very serious injuries.” While the social media post described the severity of the wounds and the response, those specific details — including the number of gunshots — were not formally confirmed in official police statements included in the Patch report.
A police spokesman formally confirmed the death by approximately 7:02 p.m. that evening. The department then issued a fuller update at 7:21 p.m. providing additional details about the victim and the hospital where he was pronounced dead. Police noted that it was an unidentified member of the public who initially found the man in the wooded area and alerted authorities, prompting the emergency response.
At the time of reporting, no suspects had been publicly identified, no arrests had been announced, and the motive for the shooting remained unknown. Suffolk County Police detectives were actively canvassing the area and pursuing leads in connection with the killing.
Location & Road Context
Middle Country Road — also known as Route 25 — is one of the main commercial and transit corridors running through central Suffolk County, passing through communities including Coram, Centereach, and Selden. The shooting took place in a wooded area directly behind a strip mall along this road, an area that would not typically be visible from the roadway itself, which may have contributed to the delayed discovery of the victim.
For Long Island drivers, Middle Country Road is a heavily traveled surface road that connects numerous residential and commercial zones across Suffolk County. Our incident database currently records 1 incident logged on this specific road corridor, while Suffolk County as a whole has 301 recorded accidents and incidents in our local database — reflecting the ongoing public safety challenges across the region.
Investigation & Legal Proceedings
As of the evening of December 2, 2021, the Suffolk County Police Department’s Homicide Squad had taken over the investigation into the victim’s death, according to Patch. No charges had been filed and no suspects were publicly named at the time of reporting. The investigation was described as active and ongoing.
Detectives issued a public appeal for information, asking anyone with knowledge of the shooting to contact the Homicide Squad directly at 631-852-6392. Those who wish to remain anonymous may call Crime Stoppers, a confidential police tip line, at 1-800-220-TIPS. Suffolk County authorities stressed that all tips — including anonymous ones — would be taken seriously as investigators worked to determine the circumstances and identify a suspect in the killing.