Victim in Prior Dog Park Attack Says He Warned of Malta Shooting Suspect

Malta, NY (WRGB) — A Malta man says he and his girlfriend were violently attacked by the same man who was later shot and killed by police at the Ellsworth Commons apartment complex.

Christopher Cometti says the incident occurred just months earlier at the dog park on the property — and he believes it could have been prevented.

“It was pretty traumatic,” Cometti said. “And the lack of apathy we got from troopers made it a little more traumatic for us.”

Cometti says his girlfriend had asked the suspect’s partner to wait before letting their dog into the park, to avoid a confrontation with their own pet. What should’ve been a routine request, he says, turned violent.

“The man struck my girlfriend me and my girlfriend, we had significant injuries and were rushed to the emergency room,” he said.

Cometti claims he stepped in to defend his girlfriend and was also attacked. He says both suffered physical injuries and emotional trauma from the encounter — and struggled to be heard afterward.

“It felt like we really had to be on top of the troopers to pursue justice in any way,” he said. “It did not seem like they were taking us seriously at all.”

The suspect, later identified as Brandon Moore, was killed in an officer-involved shooting following a separate domestic dispute involving his wife, according to New York State Police.

Cometti says when he heard the news, he feared it was the same person from the dog park — and that fear was confirmed once police released Moore’s name.

“I very much suspected the individual from the dog park was involved,” he said. “I suffered through trauma quite a bit, and it led to some issues in our lives.”

Cometti says he frequently saw Moore around the complex in the weeks and months following the attack, which he says made it harder to heal. Now, he’s speaking out in hopes that authorities take future incidents more seriously — before they escalate.

“I hope in the future, they take it more seriously and consider the feelings of the victims more,” he said. “The lack of responsiveness can lead to further trauma.”