Selena Ponce, 28, a registered nurse at St. John’s Episcopal Hospital, was killed inside her family’s home on Ocean Crest Boulevard in Far Rockaway on July 25, 2026. Police say the episode began about noon after a 911 call from the wife of Selena’s brother, 33-year-old Kegan Thomas, who reported he was armed and had killed them. Officers encountered Thomas barricaded in the two-story house; a large explosion and ensuing fire followed. Thomas emerged wearing a tactical vest and carrying a shotgun, and officers shot him after he refused commands to drop the weapon.

After firefighters secured the scene, Selena was found dead of a gunshot wound to her shoulder; her 56-year-old mother, Clemer Ponce, was also found fatally shot. The family dog and cat died from smoke inhalation. Neighbors and family friends described prior tension in the household and concerns about Thomas’s behavior. Thomas, a military veteran, was hospitalized, released, then arrested and charged with murder, attempted murder, arson, criminal possession of a weapon, and aggravated cruelty to animals. His wife told dispatchers he had a history of mental illness, though authorities said no prior mental-health record appeared in NYPD files.

Are there readers who knew Selena or her family and can share details about the household dynamics or what led up to that day?