The personal tragedy that defined Long Island Rep. Carolyn McCarthy's legacy
Former Long Island Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, who died last week, built a legacy on gun-control advocacy — after her husband was killed and son gravely wounded in the 1993 LIRR Massacre.
McCarthy, who died Thursday at age 81, instantly became a grieving face of the gun crisis — and eventually entered politics over the issue — after 35-year-old madman Colin Ferguson launched his murderous spree aboard a train during the evening rush, killing six people and wounding 19 others.
'I always worried about who will speak for the victims,' said McCarthy, a former nurse, shortly before retiring from the House in 2015 after a nearly 20-year stint that earned her the nickname 'the gun lady.'
Advertisement
11 Former Long Island Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, who built a legacy on gun-control advocacy, died last week.
Tamara Beckwith/NY Post
11 Rep. Carolyn McCarthy speaks during a press conference on Capitol Hill in 2013 to introduce the 'Assault Weapons Ban of 2013' legislation to ban assault style weapons and high capacity magazines.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images
11 Carolyn McCarthy being sworn into Congress, surrounded by her family.
Mary McLoughlin/NY Post
On Dec. 7, 1993, Ferguson boarded the Hicksville bound-train from Penn Station at the Merillon Avenue stop in Garden City, LI, then calmly walked down the aisle of the third car, pulled out a gun and opened fire on roughly 80 passengers, including McCarthy's loved ones.
Advertisement
The train car's aisles became 'literally littered with bodies' as bullets tore through it, said survivor Tom McDermott, who took a shot to his left shoulder.
Commuter Joseph Giugliano remembered watching in horror as the gunman drew closer, killing the woman sitting next to him as she tried to crawl away.
11 On Dec. 7, 1993, Colin Ferguson launched his murderous spree aboard a train during the evening rush, killing six people and wounding 19 others in the 1993 LIRR Massacre.
Dennis Caruso/NY Post
Advertisement
The victim, Maria Magtoto, a 30-year-old lawyer from Westbury, LI, lifted her head as she was crawling — with Ferguson just feet away, the witness said in a 2013 interview.
'Before you know it, she looked up, and he was maybe 8 to 10 feet away, and he pointed and shot her, shot her in the head,' Giugliano said. Her head exploded right next to me. … It was horrible.
'At that instance I looked up, and there he was, looking at me staring at me straight in the face. I said, 'Dear God, I'm dead.' '
11 Police officers remove a body from a Long Island Railroad car at the Merillon Avenue station in Garden City, N.Y., Dec. 7, 1993.
AP Photo/Ed Bailey
Advertisement
Luckily, the rider survived with a bullet that ripped through his arm and into his chest — the final shot fired before Ferguson's 15-round magazine ran dry and three passengers bravely lunged at him and tackled him to the ground.
'It's like a black cloud that follows me,' survivor Lisa Combatti, who was pregnant at the time, recently told The Post of the shooting. 'It's like waiting for a stomach ache to pass.'
McCarthy's husband and son commuted every day together to Prudential Securities in Midtown, where Dennis was a manager and Kevin worked as a broker for the same firm.
11 McCarthy's husband was killed and her son gravely wounded in the shooting.
New York Post
11 McCarthy's husband and son commuted every day together to Prudential Securities in Midtown and were headed home when the shooting occurred.
New York Post
The pair were headed home as usual to Mineola, usually about a 40-minute train ride, when the carnage unfolded.
Inside Ferguson's pocket, cops found a collection of rambling, hate-filled notes that painted a chilling picture of the black man's motives, with him blaming 'racism by caucasians and Uncle Tom Negroes.
'NYC was spared because of my respect for Mayor David Dinkins and Comm. Raymond Kelly,' one note read. 'Nassau County is the venue,' another declared — as casually as if he were picking a spot for a birthday party.
Advertisement
11 Carolyn McCarthy arrives at church for her husband's funeral.
David Rentas/NY Post
At the time, mass shootings were comparatively rare, especially in New York.
Ferguson was ruled mentally competent to stand trial, where he chose to represent himself in court, turning the proceedings into a bizarre spectacle before ultimately being convicted of six counts of murder and sentenced to 315 years behind bars.
Now nearly 70, Ferguson is serving his time at the Upstate Correctional Facility in Franklin County — a prison known for housing inmates with disciplinary issues. He has continued to insist he is innocent, telling The Post in an interview five years after the bloodbath that the whole thing was a 'conspiracy.
Advertisement
'It was the finale of the setup. I was on the train, yes, but I was not responsible for that terrible incident,' he claimed.
McCarthy, a Republican turned Democrat, ran for office in 1997, winning the seat by 17 points in a deep-red district that she held onto for nearly 20 years.
She helped successfully pass legislation in 2007 that beefed up background checks on gun buyers while tirelessly fighting for other control measures before her retirement at the start of 2015, following a lung-cancer diagnosis.
Advertisement
11 McCarthy greets the Long Island Railroad Conductor at the Rockville Centre Rail Road Station while running for a congressional seat in 1996.
Mary McLoughlin/NY Post
11 McCarthy, a Republican turned Democrat, ran for office in 1997, winning the seat in a deep-red district that she held onto for nearly 20 years.
Mary McLoughlin/NY Post
Her son, Kevin, had 10% of his brain destroyed by one of Ferguson's bullets and was given just a 1 in 10 chance of survival when he was shot.
McCarthy, recalling the efforts to save her son, told Newsday in 2018, 'When I saw Kevin coming out of the operating room, I didn't even recognize him.
Advertisement
11 McCarthy successfully passed legislation in 2007 that beefed up background checks on gun buyers.
The Washington Post via Getty Images
'When he opened his eyes, I said — and this is the mother talking, not the nurse – 'I'm going to make sure he survives.'
As for Combatti, despite the trauma she endured, she said she still rides the same 5:33 p.m. train every anniversary and sits in the same seat.
'It's my act of defiance,' she said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
3 hours ago
- The Hill
Trump celebrates Tillis's decision to retire
President Trump on Sunday celebrated Sen. Thom Tillis's (R-N.C.) announcement that he wouldn't seek reelection next year. 'Great News!' Trump wrote on TruthSocial on Sunday evening. The North Carolina senator abruptly announced his plans earlier in the day amid a days-long spat with the president over Tillis's opposition to the GOP's massive tax and spending bill. He was one of two Republicans to vote against advancing the measure on Saturday night. He has cried foul over Medicaid cuts that he says will cost the Tar Heel State more than $30 billion, preferring the Medicaid language in the House-passed bill. This drew the ire of Trump, who responded by threatening to support a primary challenger against the two-term Senate Republican. 'Numerous people have come forward wanting to run in the Primary against 'Senator Thom' Tillis,' Trump wrote. 'I will be meeting with them over the coming weeks, looking for someone who will properly represent the Great People of North Carolina and, so importantly, the United States of America.' He also railed against Tillis on Sunday ahead of the reelection decision, labeling him a 'talker and complainer, not a doer.' Tillis said in a statement announcing his retirement that he hadn't been excited about the prospect of seeking a third term, and indicated that he is looking forward to having new-found political freedom. 'As many of my colleagues have noticed over the last year, and at times even joked about, I haven't exactly been excited about running for another term,' he said. 'That is true since the choice is between spending another six years navigating the political theatre and partisan gridlock in Washington or spending that time with the love of my life Susan, our two children, three beautiful grandchildren, and the rest of our extended family back home.' 'It's not a hard choice, and I will not be seeking re-election,' he said. 'I look forward to having the pure freedom to call the balls and strikes as I see fit and representing the great people of North Carolina to the best of my ability.'
New York Post
3 hours ago
- New York Post
Pelosi's prime profits prove it's time to ban Congress' stock trading
Gee, look at that: Nancy and Paul Pelosi had yet another 'lucky' year on the stock market in 2024. What will it take for Congress to crack down on its members' insider trading? New required disclosures show the former House speaker and her hubby raked in $7.8 million to $42.5 million last year, bumping their estimated net worth to as much $413 million. (The law doesn't make them share exact numbers.) And a good chunk of that eye-popping wealth comes from their impressive stock portfolio, which is so consistently lucrative that entire social-media accounts are dedicated to tracking the Pelosis' buys and sells. Nancy maintains that she owns no stocks (it's all hubby Paul) and (says a mouthpiece) she 'has no prior knowledge or subsequent involvement in any transactions.' Which, even if she said that herself, under oath, leaves plenty of room for Paul to trade on the basis of inside information — whether things she learns on the job, or info fed to either of them for favors past, present or future from the ex-speaker. Certainly, Paul has made some uncannily sharp moves in the markets. In fact, his portfolio outperformed every major hedge fund last year. In July, he sold 5,000 shares of Microsoft, months before the Federal Trade Commission announced an antitrust investigation into the company. And he dumped 2,000 Visa shares months before the Justice Department sued the company for allegedly monopolizing the debit-card market. If he were an average Joe, the Securities and Exchange Commission would be picking through his records with a fine-tooth comb — because that kind of foresight reeks of insider knowledge. Fine; maybe Paul is a modern-day Nostradamus, somehow working his market magic without the least bit of impropriety. But it sure is fishy for any top official's family member to pull in millions this way, year after year after year. We doubt hard proof will ever come to light; the Pelosis are far too smart to leave a clear trail. But they're only the most notable examples of this game: Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle regularly make good money off the market; the portfolios of dozens of Democrats and Republicans in Congress beat the S&P 500 in 2024, according to watchdog Unusual Whales. Maybe they're just really good at making trades — but the simple fact is that neither the House nor Senate does anything serious to prevent such abuse of privileged information. Even if all (or the majority) don't use that knowledge, allowing them to make trades offers too many opportunities for corruption. And when they keep scoring big on market bets for decades, a la the Pelosis, it reeks. House Speaker Mike Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have both signaled they would support a ban on congressional stock trading — the kind that Nancy blocked repeatedly as speaker. Getting that passed before next year's midterms should be a priority for Republicans — clear proof that they want to clean up Congress. If a career in the House no longer makes it easy to get rich, the next potential Pelosi might just go into an entirely different line of work.
New York Post
4 hours ago
- New York Post
More NYC dogs mauled by other pooches without consequence as state bill to close legal loophole stalls: ‘Should not be happening'
City dogs continue to be mauled by other pooches without consequence because a state bill prompted by the horrific Penny the Chihuahua attack has stalled, animal activists say. Upper West Side resident Jennifer Busse told The Post a pit bull who was illegally off his leash mauled her tiny 13-year-old shih tzu-chihuahua mix Forrest in Riverside Park earlier this month — and that the NYPD said there are still no avenues in the criminal-justice system to punish the four-legged attacker's careless owner. 'Something needs to change,' Busse fumed. 4 Chihuahua mix Forrest was attacked by a vicious dog in Riverside Park on June 6 — but current laws prevent police from taking criminal action, owner Jennifer Busse told The Post. Courtesy of Jennifer Busse She said Forrest was sleeping in the grass at the Manhattan park June 6 when he was suddenly pounced on by the pit bull in front of her screaming terrified children, ages 6 and 8. Busse said her poor pooch lost vision in his right eye while being left with more than a dozen puncture wounds from the attack. Yet cops said their hands were tied, according to Busse. 4 Joe Columbus' pit bulls are accused of mauling Penny. Obtained by NY Post 4 Penny recovers at her owner's apartment after being attacked by two dogs on the Upper West Side last month. Gabriella Bass 'Due to current laws, harm or death to an animal caused by another animal is not a criminal matter,' an NYPD rep confirmed to The Post. The attack occurred just weeks after a similar incident involving Penny the Chihuahua on the Upper West Side made national headlines. The 16-pound Chihuahua was mauled by a pair of pit bulls near Columbus Avenue on May 3. The case prompted state Assemblywoman Jennifer Rajkumar last month to introduce a bill that seeks to allow owners to be potentially criminally charged for pet-on-pet injuries, as opposed to only facing a possible civil lawsuit. 'Pets are not property, they are family,' Rajkumar said at the time. But the legislation remains stalled in the Assembly's Agriculture Committee, although it's unclear exactly why. 4 Assemblywoman Jennifer Rajkumar proposed 'Penny's Law' in the state legislature last month. Stephen Yang The bill would make it possible to levy charges against careless owners, including 'cruelty to animals through negligent handling of a dog' and 'leaving the scene of an animal attack.' It would also impose harsher penalties for those who repeatedly violate city leash laws. The bill is named after Penny. 'This lack of accountability has permitted numerous dog owners to allow their pets to attack other dogs,' Rajkumar said last month. 'The same owners will allow the behavior repeatedly, often dismissing it as 'playing' or 'a dog being a dog.' ' Busse said, 'I totally understand that people who are homeless have [some of] these animals for companionship for protection. 'But at a certain point, this kind of situation is so unsafe for the community.'
