Attorney General releases bodycam video in Southampton stabbing shooting case

Body camera footage released Tuesday shows Southampton Town police shouting for Steven Eastwood to drop the knife as his mother lay badly wounded inside their Northampton home, adding new detail to a case that has shaken Suffolk County since the Mother's Day attack. The New York State Attorney General’s Office said the release is part of its review of the fatal shooting, which remains under examination by the Office of Special Investigation.

Police said Eastwood’s mother first called 911 at about 2:43 p.m. on May 10, reporting that her 28-year-old son was intoxicated and acting violently. She called again while officers were on the way to say he was threatening her with a knife. Southampton Town police said officers arrived moments later and found Eastwood standing over her with a knife.

The confrontation ended when officers fired, killing Eastwood in the hamlet of Northampton in Southampton Town, near the Riverhead border. Police said the victim, Eastwood’s 62-year-old mother, suffered more than 40 stab and slash wounds and was flown by Suffolk County Police helicopter to Stony Brook University Hospital for emergency surgery. Earlier reporting said Southampton Town police had responded to numerous incidents at the Toppings Drive address over the past decade, and there may previously have been an order of protection against Eastwood that was no longer active.

News 12 Long Island reported that the released footage from multiple officers shows Eastwood with what appeared to be his mother’s blood on his sweater, sleeves and hands while officers repeated commands to drop the knife. The footage also showed several knives recovered at the scene. Police said three officers were injured during the incident and later recovered.

Southampton Town Supervisor Maria Moore called the case “an extremely tragic and violent event” and said the town’s concerns were first and foremost with the victim and her family. The Attorney General’s Office said its Office of Special Investigation opened an investigation into Eastwood’s death on May 11, 2026, one day after the shooting.

Under New York State Executive Law Section 70-b, OSI reviews incidents in which an officer may have caused a death. By releasing the body-worn camera video now, the office said it is seeking to increase transparency and public trust while the review continues. For Suffolk County, the footage sharpens the timeline of a domestic crisis that turned lethal in a matter of minutes and leaves the legal review to sort out whether the force used was justified.