NESCONSET, N.Y. — An 18-year-old college freshman from West Sayville was shot and killed inside her ex-boyfriend’s Nesconset home Wednesday morning in what Suffolk County police are calling a targeted act of domestic violence just two days before Thanksgiving.
Emily Finn, a 2025 Sayville High School graduate and current SUNY Oneonta freshman, was pronounced dead at the scene on Shenandoah Boulevard North shortly after 11:10 a.m.
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According to police, Finn had stopped by the residence to return personal items following the couple’s recent breakup. During the exchange, the 17-year-old ex-boyfriend allegedly retrieved a handgun, shot Finn multiple times, and then turned the weapon on himself.
The suspect’s parents were home at the time and immediately called 911. Officers found Finn unresponsive and the teenage gunman suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was rushed to Stony Brook University Hospital, where he remains in critical but stable condition.
Detectives say no prior police reports or domestic incidents had been filed involving the pair, making the sudden escalation all the more shocking to investigators and neighbors.
“Emily was here to drop things off and move on with her life,” a Suffolk County Police spokesperson said Wednesday afternoon. “What should have been the end of a high-school relationship turned into an unimaginable tragedy.”
Emily was studying Childhood and Elementary Education with a dance minor at SUNY Oneonta and had returned home for Thanksgiving break. Friends describe her as vibrant and kind-hearted, with a passion for teaching and performing that lit up every room she entered.
Sayville School District Superintendent Dr. Dennis O’Hara released a statement calling Finn “a bright light in our community,” and announced crisis counselors would be available for students and staff when classes resume next week.
Suffolk County police have recovered the firearm and expect to charge the 17-year-old suspect—who cannot be named because of his age—with second-degree murder once he is medically cleared.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Homicide Squad detectives at 631-852-6392 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-220-TIPS.
A candlelight vigil for Emily Finn is being organized for Friday evening at the Sayville Commons; details are being shared through the high school’s official channels.