On September 19, 2020, at about 11:30 p.m. a 2008 Volkswagen Jetta traveling southbound on Carleton Avenue near Hoppen Drive in Central Islip, New York, was fired into from a passing vehicle. Twenty-seven-year-old Rahsaan Pressley, the front-seat passenger, was struck and taken to Southside Hospital in Bay Shore, where he was pronounced dead. A 24-year-old rear-seat passenger suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was treated; the female driver was not hurt.

Suffolk County detectives said from the start they believed the attack was targeted rather than random. Investigators later charged 30-year-old Quinton Booker of Mastic Beach with Pressley’s murder, alleging Booker fired an assault rifle from a vehicle. Prosecutors say the shooting was retaliation for an earlier confrontation that night in which Pressley reportedly pulled a knife on Tarrel Thaw. Thaw was later involved in the case and pleaded guilty to a reduced manslaughter count; Booker’s attorney says Booker denies involvement.

If anyone has information about the events that night or knew Rahsaan, please come forward.