Officer Collins Released From Hospital

Suffolk Police Officer Mark Collins, who was shot during a traffic stop last Wednesday, was released from Stony Brook University Hospital on Sunday afternoon.

Collins, 35, had been in drug-induced coma at the hospital following two gunshot wounds while on duty in Huntington Station. By Thursday evening he was conscious and responsive, police told Patch.

On Sunday, police officers and department staff gathered around Collins as he left the hospital to continue his recovery at home.

From his wheelchair, Collins greeted the crowd with a wave and a thumbs-up. He stood up once outside the hospital in front of a waiting car and acknowledged the hundreds of Suffolk police officers as well members of the North Bellmore Fire Department, where Collins serves as a commissioner.

Among his many supporters, including Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone, was Officer Nicholas Guerrero, who had been injured in a hit-and-run allegedly by two Northport residents in October.

“I was humbled to support Officer Mark Collins as he was released from Stony Brook University Hospital just days after he was shot in the line of duty,” Bellone said in a statement. “Officer Collins defines what it means to be a true hero.

“His display of courage last week was only one of the countless sacrifices he has made throughout his career,” Bellone added. “This shooting was a stark reminder of the risk and sacrifice the men and woman of our police department make each and every day to protect each of us and our communities.”

Assigned to the Second Precinct Crime Section Gang Unit, Collins was in an unmarked police vehicle late Wednesday when he pulled over a car with four people inside. As Collins and two other officers approached the vehicle, a man inside the car got out and confronted Collins, shooting the 12-year veteran twice, once in the neck and once in the hip, police said.

The alleged shooter, Sheldon Leftenant, of Huntington Station, was caught about an hour later and charged with attempted aggravated murder and resisting arrest.