Cops hunt for Copiague teen's killer

In his final year of high school, Joseph Scorzelli decided to become a firefighter.

But just a few months before his graduation, the Copiague teenager was shot and killed on a street outside a church a few blocks from his home. Police Monday said they have made no arrests in his shooting late Saturday.

Police are looking for four people involved in an argument that preceded the shooting, said Det. Lt. Jack Fitzpatrick, commander of the Suffolk police homicide squad.

Scorzelli, 17, called a friend Saturday night while he was involved in the verbal dispute on Pinelawn Avenue, Fitzpatrick said. When that friend arrived, Scorzelli moved toward his car and was shot once in the head, Fitzpatrick said.

The friend, whom police did not identify, drove Scorzelli to the wounded teen's home on Pleasantview Court and asked people at the house to call for help. When police arrived at 11:35 p.m., Scorzelli was dead, Fitzpatrick said.

Neighbors said Monday they heard loud voices and gunshots Saturday night. One resident, Christopher Porfidio, 16, said he saw two people wearing black hooded sweatshirts run away from the scene.

"Kids in the neighborhood really took it hard," Porfidio said. "This place is really close-knit. Nobody hates anybody, so that's what makes it shocking."

Though the street is a frequent gathering place for teenagers, the neighborhood isn't dangerous, said Pinelawn Avenue resident Gina Scalise.

"I have to believe the gun had to be brought in from outside the community," she said. "It's a little scary that no one has been apprehended. But whoever it is, I don't think they're going to come back here."

Scorzelli, a senior at Copiague High School, attended the construction electricity program at BOCES' Wilson Technological Center in Dix Hills, said Copiague school superintendent Charles Leunig. He said Scorzelli recently was accepted into the Copiague Volunteer Fire Department.

A man at Scorzelli's home declined to comment.

Friends visiting a makeshift memorial outside Copiague Christian Church on Pinelawn Avenue said Scorzelli was finding some direction in life after struggling in school.

"He was always happy," said Marisabel Urbina, 17. "He was always joking around."