A New York City police officer and his wife's suspected 20-year-old lover are both dead
following an apparent murder-suicide in the parking lot of a Buffalo Wild Wings.
Edward Wilkins, 20, was shot and killed by 36-year-old veteran Police Officer Sean Armstead, who then turned the gun on himself. Wallkill police officers responded to reports of a shooting at 567 Route 211 East — where the restaurant is located — at 10:34 p.m. They found the two men dead, according to Wallkill Police.
Armstead worked as a police officer for the New York City Police Department, according to Wallkill police. The NYPD said Armstead was hired in 2011.
Wilkins worked as a dog walker at Gotham Canine Club, a business run by Alexandra Vanderheyden, who is Armstead’s 35-year-old wife. He also worked at Wendy's, according to his TikTok.
Police said the altercation started when Armstead, driving in his personal car, rammed a vehicle he'd been following on Route 211. Sources said his wife's lover was inside the other vehicle.
Wilkins got out of the vehicle and ran to a Buffalo Wild Wings parking lot, where police said Armstead shot and killed him.
“One guy jumps out, comes over here and starts shooting away,” Gary DeYoung told News 12 Westchester. “I was like, ‘Whoa.’ I called 911. By that time, there was two deceased on the ground here in the parking lot.”
Armstead's wife had arrived in another car and was not injured, police said.
"I hear pow, pow, pow, pow, pow,” another witness told CBS News. “Next thing I know, probably, I don't know how long afterwards, cops were all over this place. I mean, the smell of the gunpowder was so heavy.”
A Glock pistol and multiple spent shell casings were found at the scene of the shooting.
Armstead, of Port Jervis, N.Y., was reportedly supposed to be working a midnight shift in the Bronx at the time of the shooting.
Armstead's wife reportedly told police that she had suspected her husband was tracking her cell phone location as she spent time with Wilkins.
The New York State Attorney General's Office is leading the investigation. New York State Police and NYPD are assisting, officials said.
Wilkins had a fairly active Tiktok account, where he shared videos of his dog, him at work at Wendy's, and singing and making music.
On Facebook, Vanderhayden shares a lot of photos and her dog, as well as photos of her with her husband. There are no signs from social media that anything was astray in her marriage, or that she and Wilkins even knew each other.
