Man Kills Himself On Strangers' Stoop In Douglaston

A man took his own life on another family's property in Douglaston on Thursday afternoon, according to police.

The owners of the home say they didn't know the man who shot himself on their front steps.

The family that lives at Marathon Parkway near 53rd Ave., who asked not to be identified by name, said only their grandmother was home when the man chose to take his own life on their stoop.

Police on the scene said the man shot himself in the chin, but do not yet know the reason.

Neighbor Joseph Abt said his own home security footage shows the man sitting in his car for about 10 minutes, then getting out and appearing to contemplate which direction to go. "I saw him pause in front of my house," Abt said. "Thank God he didn't," he added. Abt turned over the images to police.

Other neighbors, and people who otherwise would have been going about their business, were stunned by the death. "It's a very quiet area," said local resident Jasmin Bekteshi. "Nothing ever happens here."