Ross Reisner, 50, a well-known professional horse trainer was shot dead in front of his partner in their Long Island home on Tuesday evening in what police believe was a targeted attack.
Reisner, a riding school instructor in the Hamptons, was reportedly killed by a bullet fired through the window of his house.
The 50-year-old's family told the press that they believe it was a 'planned, professional murder.' Police reportedly believe the gunman deliberately targeted the couple.
Now a manhunt is on for the killer that struck in the upscale Long Island community of Setauket.
The gunman allegedly targeted the two men, who have been partners for 26 years, as they finished dinner, killing Reisner with a shot through the window.
According to CBS Reisner was shot in the chest around 8:45 p.m. He was taken to Stony Brook University Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Neighbors in the quiet North Shore enclave said they had never heard gunshots in the area before, until seven or eight blasts shattered the peace of the evening.
Michelle O’Toole and her family reportedly ran to the side yard.
‘I did hear a male voice screaming, ‘Oh God, help him. Please help me. Help him,’ O’Toole said.
Police arrived at the scene within minutes. Inside the kitchen, Reisner and his partner were both bleeding.
Reisner’s partner suffered a graze wound to the arm, but Reisner himself was dead of a bullet wound to the chest.
‘These victims appear to have been targeted,’ said Suffolk County police Detective Lt. Jack Fitzpatrick told the press. ‘The gunfire did not come through the front windows of the home, but the shooter clearly stood in the yard and fired through one of the windows from the yard.’
Fitzpatrick said the murder was not random, the victims were targeted and the community is not in danger.
But the neighborhood is reportedly very shaken up, as violence is extremely uncommon in the area.
Reisner’s business partner told CBS 2 they had just opened a riding club at a horse farm in nearby Mattituck.
‘He loved to teach and loved to ride,’ Bobby Ginsberg said. ‘He’s a very likeable person. It’s just unbelievable to me that anyone would harm him.’
Police refused to discuss whether business, romance or revenge could have been motivating factors in the attack but it’s understood they could be searching for a killer who knew both men.
Detectives are asking anyone with information to call the Homicide Squad at 631-852-6392 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS.
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