Greenpoint Shooting: Retired Cop Says 'It Was Me'

GREENPOINT, BROOKLYN — The retired NYPD officer who was charged with shooting his landlord's boyfriend in the head and leading police in a standoff for more than an hour told an officer, "It was me," according to prosecutors.

Gene Barrett, 51, holed himself up in the building where he lived on Monday and threatened Lieutenant Minhchau Hong with a silver firearm while standing at a first-floor window, according to Hong. That's when he told Hong, "It was me," according to the criminal complaint from the Brooklyn District Attorney's office.

Barrett shot 45-year-old Joseph Stepinski in the head at 2:30 p.m. outside their apartment building at 185 Greenpoint Ave. in Greenpoint, police said. After the shooting, witnesses saw Barrett go through Stepinski's pockets and then lock himself in the building, the complaint said.

The standoff ended at around 4:30 p.m. when police "engaged Barrett in a dialogue" and convinced him to come out. No one else was injured during the standoff.

Barrett was charged with attempted murder, assault, robbery, menacing of a police officer and burglary, prosecutors said. He was arraigned Tuesday and was ordered held on Rikers Island until his next court date on Friday.

Stepinski was rushed to the hospital, where he died on March 9 of his injuries and became an organ donor, relatives posted to Facebook.

Photo of Joseph Stepinski via Facebook