On a summer night in Queens, New York, the life of off-duty Police Officer Paul Heidelberger was cut tragically short. The 28-year-old male officer was attempting to break up a fight that had spilled out of a nightclub in the Bayside section of Queens on July 18, 1992. As Heidelberger was escorting some of the individuals involved to their cars, a bouncer from a neighboring bar, Patrick Bannon, returned to the scene with a 9mm handgun and opened fire on the group.
Heidelberger and
another man, John Camarta, were struck by the initial gunfire and fell to the ground. In a brazen act of violence, Bannon then walked over to the wounded men and shot both of them in the head, killing them. A third man was also shot and wounded in the incident. Heidelberger, a six-year veteran of the New York City Housing Authority Police Department, died at the scene.
The shooter, Patrick Bannon, who was 26 years old at the time, fled after the shootings but was apprehended several days later. Bannon claimed self-defense, a charge that was refuted by witnesses. He was subsequently convicted of one count of second-degree murder and one count of second-degree manslaughter. The court sentenced him to a term of 30 years to life in prison. After serving 31 years, Patrick Bannon was granted parole and released in November 2023.
