A 21-year-old Long Island man is being held in jail on attempted murder and other charges after allegedly shooting his sister in the face with a crossbow in what prosecutors say was a planned attack dating back to Christmas.
Nassau County police say officers were called to a home on West Avenue in Lawrence just before 9:30 p.m. Friday, where they found a 28-year-old woman bleeding from the right side of her face.
Authorities say an arrow fired from a crossbow had grazed her, and she was taken to a hospital, where she was listed in stable condition. The victim has been identified by local outlets as the suspect's sister, according to People.
The suspect, identified as Samy Sedhom, 21, was arrested at the scene without incident. He is charged with attempted murder, assault, criminal possession of a weapon, tampering with physical evidence, and stalking, according to police and prosecutors. A judge has issued a full stay-away order of protection for his sister.
Prosecutors say Sedhom admitted to shooting and trying to kill his sister and told authorities he had been planning the attack since around Christmas. Court documents cited by local media allege that he waited in his vehicle for her to return home from the gym, then fired a hunting arrow at her as she stood in the garage.
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Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said the arrow split the victim's ear and that if it had struck a couple of inches over, "we would be talking about a homicide," ABC7NY reported.
Investigators say the woman had just pulled into the attached garage when she noticed her brother sitting in a parked car across the street. As she tried to enter the code to close the garage door, she felt a sharp pain in the right side of her face and then called 911, officials said. When officers arrived, they found an arrow lodged in the back wall of the garage.
Police say a search of Sedhom's bedroom turned up a crossbow box, a Katana samurai sword, and a laptop, all of which were seized. Donnelly said the incident stemmed from a "brother-sister rivalry" and that the siblings had been arguing over the temperature in the house, with the victim preferring it cooler and Sedhom wanting it warmer.
Sedhom was arraigned Sunday in Hempstead and remains in custody; he is due back in court on Wednesday and could face up to 25 years in prison if convicted of attempted murder, as per WLOS.
