An off-duty NYPD officer has committed suicide on Long Island, becoming the fourth city cop this month to take his own life, police sources said Thursday.
The Bronx cop, identified by sources as 53-year-old Kevin Preiss, was found dead in his Nassau County home from a gunshot wound to the head late Wednesday, police and neighbors said. He was the sixth cop to die by their own hand so far this year, officials said.
Shocked neighbors said Preiss was on the porch of his Hicksville home when he shot himself about 10 p.m. Several relatives were inside the home at a family gathering when he took his own life.
“It’s horrible that a person would be driven to that — not be able to get the help they need and feel so helpless,” said neighbor Ellen McGreevy. “I can’t imagine what drove him to that point.”
The married father of three spent nearly all of his career on patrol in the Bronx’s 50th Precinct, which covers Riverdale and surrounding neighborhoods. He was just three days away from celebrating his 25th year with the NYPD, sources said.
On Wednesday, people were still cleaning up Preiss’ blood, which stained the driveway of his home.