Investigators returned to the residence Tuesday after a round fired during a police confrontation entered the teenager’s second-floor bedroom.
WESTBURY, N.Y. — A bullet fired by a Nassau County police officer during a confrontation with an armed man traveled through a fence and into a nearby home, narrowly missing a 17-year-old girl in her bedroom, the teenager and police said.
No one inside the home was injured in the late Monday incident near Brush Hollow Road and Sixth Street. The close call became a second focus of the investigation after police said officers fired three shots during an encounter with 27-year-old Adrian Thompson, who was wounded and later charged with menacing police officers.
Sarai Montoya said she was preparing for bed when she heard gunfire and felt debris near her shoulder. She initially did not understand what had happened, but her family later found damage showing the apparent path of a bullet through the property.
News reports from the scene showed holes in a fence, a second-floor window and interior sections of the house. The round passed through a closet and walls before reaching the teenager’s bedroom, according to the family and local news reports. Montoya said it passed within inches of where she had been standing.
Four family members were home at the time, according to the family. None was struck. Nassau County police returned to the residence Tuesday with the department’s Crime Scene Search Unit and spoke with those who were inside during the shooting.
The gunfire followed emergency calls about a man acting erratically and threatening people with a large knife, police said. Officers found Thompson near a wooded area and approached in an unmarked patrol vehicle shortly before 11 p.m.
Police said Thompson ran from the bushes and struck the passenger-side window with an approximately 13-inch knife while an officer was sitting inside. The passenger officer fired twice but missed Thompson. At least one of those shots was reported to have entered the Montoya home.
Thompson then moved behind the police vehicle, authorities said. A second officer got out and fired once, striking Thompson in the face. He was taken to Nassau University Medical Center and was expected to survive. Both officers were treated at a hospital for trauma.
Investigators recovered a knife from the scene. Thompson was arraigned at his hospital bedside and pleaded not guilty to two counts of menacing a police officer. He was remanded and was due back in court Thursday. The charges are allegations, and the circumstances surrounding the police gunfire remain under investigation.
Police had not released a full ballistic account identifying which officer fired the round that entered the house. Officials also had not announced whether any video of the encounter would be released or whether the department would conduct a separate administrative review of the officer’s missed shots.
The Crime Scene Search Unit’s examination of the home and the broader police shooting investigation were continuing Wednesday. Authorities had not reported any additional injuries or announced findings about the bullet’s complete path through the residence.
Author note: Last updated August 5, 2026.