A Queens man accused of fatally shooting his mother and sister before an explosion tore through their shared Far Rockaway home over the weekend was charged Tuesday with murder, as officials also disclosed that a dog and a cat died in the blaze.
Kegan Thomas, 33, remained hospitalized after being shot by responding police officers. He now faces charges including murder, attempted murder, arson, aggravated cruelty to animals and criminal possession of a weapon in connection with the violent Saturday afternoon incident, police said.
Authorities said the aggravated animal cruelty charge stems from the deaths of one dog and one cat, both of which died from smoke inhalation after the explosion and fire.
Thomas is accused of shooting his mother, 56-year-old Clemer Ponce, in the chest and his sister, 28-year-old Selema Ponce, in the shoulder inside the family’s home on Ocean Crest Boulevard near Hartman Lane, according to police.
His wife called 911 and told dispatchers that Thomas, who Assistant Chief Christopher McIntosh said had “a history with mental illness,” had killed the two women. She also warned responding officers “to be careful because her husband has a shotgun,” McIntosh said at the time.
As officers with the NYPD’s Emergency Service Unit prepared to force entry into the home, “a large fiery explosion erupted from the house,” McIntosh said.
Police then encountered Thomas, who was wearing a bulletproof vest and carrying a shotgun, the chief said. Officers repeatedly ordered him to drop the weapon.
“After failing to comply with repeat commands to put his hands up and still armed [with] the shotgun, officers discharged their weapons and struck the suspect,” McIntosh said.
He was taken to Jamaica Hospital, where he remained in critical but stable condition Tuesday, police said.
He has no criminal record or mental health history with the NYPD, according to McIntosh.
But neighbors told The Post on Monday that Thomas long had “something crazy about him” and that “every day in that house there was a lot of domestic violence going on.”
The timing of his arraignment was not yet clear Tuesday evening, prosecutors said.
