Nassau County Police and Kings Point Police are asking anyone who may have had contact with Kings Point kidnapping suspect Sirus Kashimallak to contact them.
“If you had any contact with our suspect, or any suspect, please come to either the Kings Point Police Department or the Nassau County 6th precinct,” said Detective Lieutenant Harun Begis, commanding office of the sixth squad.
Sirus Kashimallak, 50, of Cherry Lane, was apprehended last Thursday after he approached an unidentified woman at the same Kings Point bus stop where he allegedly abducted an unidentified 38-year-old woman last month.
Police said Kashimallak attempted to engage the woman in conversation, but the woman declined because she recognized him from a police sketch and immediately called 911.
Speaking at a Kings Point Civic Association security meeting last Thursday at John F. Kennedy Elementary School, Begis said that other victims may be afraid to come forward because they may be illegal immigrants and could get in trouble.
“I don’t care about any status, background and I don’t care if they are illegal immigrants,” Begis said. “We know there are other victims, we just know it. They need to come forward. All we want to know about is the crime, we don’t care about anything else.”
After being arrested, Kashimallak was positively identified by the woman he allegedly abducted last month and charged with second-degree kidnapping and first-degree sexual abuse. He was arraigned in First District Court in Hempstead last Thursday and released on a $2 million bond, police said.
Marsha Rotman, president of the Kings Point Civic Association said the meeting would help further inform the public that the police are still seeking information and hoped they would be encouraged to come forward.
“The police need information from whoever may have had contact with the suspect or have information related to incidences of a similar kind,” Rotman said. “People may read about this and may be encouraged to come forward knowing there is an open door. It may serve a purpose we don’t know about, but it may help.”
Begis and Commissioner of Kings Point Police John Miller provided safety tips for residents, emphasizing that people should be more aware of their surroundings and text a little less on their cell phones.
“You see it in the cars, you see it when their walking, everybody at the bus stop is doing it,” Miller said. “Nobody is paying attention to what is going on around them. Maybe if you’re a female and your waiting for the bus on Steppingstone Lane and you know the bus is coming at 6:30 and you get there at 6:15, maybe you stand over by the guard on Steamboat Road.”
Making sure cars are not following you home is another safety tip Miller and Begis recommended.
“I’ll drive by my house sometimes if I think a car is following me,” Begis said. “I never take the same route home. I’m always going down different roads, side streets – make it hard for them. My kids think I am being crazy or paranoid.”
Mindy Horowitz, a lifelong Kings Point resident said she didn’t think Begis was crazy at all and it was something she was always taught.
“I was born and raised in this community and went to this school,” Horowitz said. “I can remember from a little kid and then when I started to drive the police would come in and told us if you thought someone was following you, just drive straight to the police station. Believe me, I’m almost 50 years old and if I still have that feeling if someone is following me I’ll go straight to the police station.”
Also stressed by Miller was for people to not open their door to strangers, unless they properly can identify themselves, even if they say they are the FBI.
“You have every right to call up the police and ask us to come check their identification before they are allowed to enter your house,” Miller said.
Nassau County Legislator Judi Bosworth praised the work of the police departments and first responders.
“So much of the quality the of life we enjoy is in large part because we feel safe in our communities,” Bosworth said. “We wouldn’t have this without the great work of the Kings Point Police and certainly the Nassau County police who do an outstanding job.”
Bosworth also thanked Rotman who she said has played a huge role in identifying situations and organizing forums.
“With her help we have an opportunity to get together to ask questions and to have experts here to answer those questions,” Bosworth said.
