Man Held in Shooting of Off-Duty New York EMT

Anthony O'Connor, 45, of Long Island City was nabbed with the alleged .38-caliber murder weapon still on him as he left a cousin's home in Greenwich Village late Sunday, cops said.

O'Connor - whose kin yesterday described him as "troubled" and a "lost soul" - was charged with murdering 30-year-old EMT and former firefighter Erick Gonzalez during a simmering, apparently booze-fueled dispute that turned deadly at the Easy Street Lounge on Greenpoint Avenue at around 8:20 a.m. Sunday, police said.

Gonzalez's grieving mom, Gloria, yesterday recalled how she was attending Mass at St. Raphael's Catholic Church across the street from the neighborhood bar as her son, a former altar boy, was killed.

"When I was in church, I heard the sirens and ambulances," the 56-year-old mom said.

Then, as she left Mass at around 8:45 a.m., she said, her heart dropped.

"I got a feeling that he was there," she said.

Erick Gonzalez's dad said his son had already cheated death once - on 9/11 while with the FDNY. The female firefighter who replaced him on his shift that morning had been killed when the second tower collapsed, Leo Gonzalez said.

The bar's owner, Sonny Newcombe, said Gonzalez and O'Connor had gotten into a dispute at the bar several weeks ago, then argued again when Gonzalez walked in at 2 a.m. Sunday.

The bar owner said the pair eventually shook hands that night, but later, for some reason, O'Connor made a racial remark about Gonzalez and the duo began duking it out.

O'Connor then shot Gonzalez twice in the chest, police said.

A wake for Gonzalez is set for today and tomorrow at the Leo F. Kearns Funeral Home on Woodhaven Boulevard. His funeral will be Thursday at 9:45 a.m. at St. Raphael's.

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• Man Shoots, Kills Off-Duty EMT In New York