Hamptons man, 53, shot dead during home invasion on Christmas Day was killed in ‘targeted event’

A man who was found shot to death in his Hamptons home on Christmas Day was the target of a home invasion, police confirmed on Sunday. 

Steven Byrnes, 53, was shot dead at the single-family home at 90 Roses Grove Road in Southampton at about 8.45a.m. Saturday, after police made the grim discovery following a 911 call about a nearby burglary.  

Initial reports claimed the killing was random but police in the posh East End town now believe his murder was no accident. 

‘The investigation thus far has demonstrated that the actions here were not random, this was a targeted event,’ Southampton Town Police Chief Steven Skrynecki told the  Southampton Press.

‘We have been getting calls from concerned community members about the fear of lingering.’ 

Byrnes was declared dead at the scene by the Office of the Suffolk County Medical Examiner. 

Steven Byrnes, 53, was found shot dead at his home on 90 Roses Grove Road in Southampton at about 8.45a.m. on Christmas Day.

Byrnes was apparently home alone at the time of the break-in at the home, which is estimated at roughly $900,000 according to Zillow. The property is nestled between million-dollar homes blocks from Little Peconic Bay in the North Sea neighborhood. 

On Sunday, a boat and Volvo sedan were seen parked in the driveway.

A neighbor, who asked to remain unidentified, said they had not noticed any suspicious activity leading to the shooting that took place inside the property.  

No immediate arrests have been made. In 2021, one ‘violent’ crime and 23 property crimes were reported in Southampton, where the shooting took place.

Detectives are asking anyone with information on the shooting to contact the Homicide Squad at 631-852-6392 or call anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS. 

The Hamptons are a major hotspot for celebrity real estate. Hollywood’s most famous personalities flock to eastern Long Island every summer to live in multi-million dollar homes, including Neil Patrick Harris, Beyoncé and Jay-Z, Alec Baldwin, Robert Downey Jr and Robert De Niro. 

Sales in the area rose annually at the highest rate in a decade, a report from Douglas Elliman showed. For the year 2020, the median sale price hit $1,202,500, a 40 percent increase from 2019 and the first time the year-end price broke the million-dollar threshold.