Suffolk County Police have arrested a man after he injured three people, one seriously, with a machete at a Patchogue store.
Treyvius Tunstall inquired about purchasing rifles at DICK’S Sporting Goods, located at 499-64 Sunrise Highway, at approximately 3:15 p.m. Tunstall displayed identification to the employee assisting him but then pulled the identification back and walked away from the counter. Tunstall then moved to a different area of the store where he displayed a machete and attacked an uninvolved employee who suffered severe lacerations. A Fifth Precinct police officer and EMS workers applied tourniquets and the victim was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital with serious, but non-life-threatening, injuries.
As Tunstall fled the store, he struck a customer with the machete and then proceeded to strike another uninvolved man in the parking lot with the machete. Those victims were treated at the scene for minor injuries.
Tunstall was located nearby and arrested by Fifth Precinct police officers. Fifth Squad detectives are investigating the incident. Tunstall was charged with Assault 1st Degree, two counts of Assault 2nd Degree, three counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon 3rd Degree and three counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon 4th Degree. Tunstall will be held overnight at the Fifth Precinct and is scheduled for arraignment at First District Court in Central Islip on August 13.
A criminal charge is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Authority: Rodney K. Harrison, Commissioner 22-458753
Suffolk County Police Department
