Police investigate homicide at Bay Shore LIRR station parking lot
Police found Yolandus Pratt, 34, unconscious in the Bay Shore LIRR station parking lot and later pronounced him dead at South Shore University Hospital.
Third Precinct officers on patrol found an unconscious man in the north parking lot of the Bay Shore Long Island Rail Road station at about 2:30 a.m. on July 5, at 6 Railroad Plaza, and Suffolk County homicide detectives are now investigating the death as a homicide.
Police identified the victim as Yolandus Pratt, 34, of Bay Shore. He was taken by ambulance to South Shore University Hospital in Bay Shore, where he was pronounced dead a short time later. The Suffolk County Police Department said the case was being handled by the Homicide Squad and asked anyone with information to contact detectives or Suffolk County Crime Stoppers anonymously.
The killing unfolded in one of Bay Shore’s most visible transit areas, a commuter parking lot used daily by Long Island Rail Road riders and nearby residents. The Long Island Rail Road says it serves 126 stations and carries about 250,000 customers each weekday on 947 daily trains, underscoring how many people move through the system and how public the station environment is. The Town of Islip’s parking program says Bay Shore Railroad Station commuter parking is available year-round, with daily, long-term and permit parking, along with seasonal weekend parking passes.
Police have not announced an arrest or named a suspect in the case, and investigators have not released a motive. The early-morning patrol discovery, the ambulance response and the shift from an apparent medical emergency to a homicide investigation have left the station under close scrutiny for commuters heading through Bay Shore and for businesses and homes clustered around the railroad property.
The Bay Shore station has been linked to violent crime before. On Oct. 18, 2024, Lameek Everette was sentenced to 40 years in prison for his role in the Sept. 2, 2016 murders of David Arzu and Janelle Curella near the station. Federal prosecutors said the victims were robbed and shot as they walked to the Long Island Rail Road station in Bay Shore, and the case was prosecuted as part of a racketeering case tied to the Bloods gang.
For now, the July 5 killing has returned attention to the station lot itself, a routine public space that became the center of a homicide investigation in the middle of Bay Shore’s commuter corridor.
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