In the early hours of New Year's Day, a sense of celebration turned to tragedy in the community of New Cassel, near Westbury, New York. Joseph Fountain, a 40-year-old man, was fatally shot in an incident that shattered the dawn of the new year. The event unfolded at approximately 2:05 a.m. on Thursday, January 1, 2026, along Railroad Avenue in the vicinity of Siegel Street.
When officers from the Nassau County Police Department arrived at the scene, they discovered Fountain suffering from gunshot wounds.
Emergency crews acted swiftly, transporting Fountain to a nearby hospital in a desperate attempt to save his life. Despite their efforts, he was pronounced dead by hospital staff. The initial aided case was quickly escalated to a homicide investigation by the Nassau County Police Department's Homicide Squad, as they began the painstaking process of piecing together the events that led to the fatal shooting. The investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident remained active as detectives sought to understand what transpired in the moments leading up to the violence.
Within a few days, a significant development emerged in the case. On Sunday, January 4, 2026, police announced the arrest of a suspect in connection with the killing. Stephen Primm, a 34-year-old resident of Bay Shore, was taken into custody. Following his arrest, Primm was charged with Murder and Criminal Possession of a Weapon. He was scheduled to be arraigned at the First District Court in Hempstead on the same day. While the arrest marked a crucial step in the investigation, authorities continued to appeal to the public for any information that might further illuminate the case, urging witnesses to contact Nassau County Crime Stoppers.
