The Long Island Incident

The Long Island Incident is a 1998 American made-for-television drama film produced by Barbra Streisand's Barwood Films. The teleplay by Maria Nation is based on the 1993 Long Island Rail Road shooting. The film premiered on May 3, 1998 on NBC.

The Long Island Incident
Genre	Drama
Screenplay by	Maria Nation
Directed by	Joseph Sargent
Starring	Laurie Metcalf Mackenzie Astin Peter MacNeill Tyrone Benskin Elisa Moolecherry
Theme music composer	Charles Bernstein
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Executive producers	Barbra Streisand Cis Corman
Producers	Robert W. Christiansen Rick Rosenberg
Cinematography	Edward J. Pei
Editor	Michael Brown
Running time	96 minutes
Production companies	Barwood Films Columbia TriStar Television
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	May 3, 1998 (1998-05-03)

Plot

On December 7, 1993, Jamaican émigré Colin Ferguson boarded the 5:33pm train to Hicksville at the Long Island Rail Road terminal in midtown-Manhattan and opened fire on the passengers with a 9 mm handgun soon after departure.^[1] While early scenes of the film depict his efforts to purchase the weapon, the bulk of the movie concentrates on the aftermath, particularly its impact on Mineola housewife Carolyn McCarthy, whose husband Dennis was killed and son Kevin so severely injured doctors initially gave him only a 10% chance of survival.

McCarthy's determination to rehabilitate Kevin keeps her close by his side, and initially she resists an invitation to lobby Congress to pass stronger gun control measures. When Ferguson's original attorney, William Kunstler, announces he will use "black rage" as an innovative defense in his client's mass murder trial, McCarthy becomes enraged and stirred to action. In large part due to her efforts, the Federal Assault Weapons Ban is passed in 1994.

The following year, Republicans gain a majority in Congress and attempt to repeal the law. When Congressman Dan Frisa, who represents the district in which McCarthy lives, supports the repeal, she impulsively decides to run against him in the next election. She changes her party affiliation to Democratic and, with no previous political experience and against all odds, she garners enough support from the local and national Democratic parties and the endorsement of the local daily newspaper Newsday to defeat Frisa by nearly 17%.

Joseph Sargent directed a cast that included Laurie Metcalf as Carolyn McCarthy, Mackenzie Astin as her son Kevin, Sandy Crawley as Dan Frisa, and Tyrone Benskin as Colin Ferguson. The movie was filmed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

References

1. A Mass Murderer's Journey Toward Madness - Printout - TIME

External links

• The Long Island Incident at IMDb
• The Long Island Incident at AllMovie