Rockville Centre man shot and killed

BY JENNIFER MALONEY | jennifer.maloney@newsday.com

10:48 PM EDT, May 18, 2008

A Rockville Centre man was killed early Sunday outside a local community center in the village's second shooting in the past 11 months.

David Baez, 27, was shot in front of the Martin Luther King Community Center at 150 N. Centre Ave., about 12:30 a.m. He was taken by ambulance to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Relatives of Baez could not be reached.

Nassau police did not say whether the event was gang-related and did not provide any other details. They are looking for witnesses, or anyone with information on the shooting.

Last June, a Central Islip man was shot in the head and left to die outside an apartment complex on Old Mill Court -- the same street where Baez lived.

Mark Davis, 42, the victim in last year's shooting, was shot at 12:18 a.m. on June 10. Police, who said it was not a robbery, still haven't made an arrest.

Davis, a construction worker, was married, with four children ranging in age from 18 months to 24 years.

The Martin Luther King Community Center, where Baez was shot yesterday, is run by the Village of Rockville Centre and offers children's after-school programs, weekend classes and summer camps as well as sports for teens and adults.

It was open until 10 p.m. Saturday, according to the village Web site.

Village officials could not be reached yesterday.

Before last year's shooting, it had been several years since the last killing here, village police said.