The 21-year-old suspect identified in the botched holdup at the Roosevelt Field Mall Tuesday had posted an image on Facebook of a gun, pills and drinks just days before his arrest, authorities say.
Investigators believe it is the same weapon that Oliver Lee used in an attempted robbery at the Tourneau store in Roosevelt Field.
Prosecutors say Lee requested to see an $18,000 Rolex watch before pulling out his handgun and trying to run out of the store with the item.
Police say security guards and others started to struggle with Lee, which bled into the main concourse of the mall.
Authorities say one shot was discharged from Lee's gun, striking a 67-year-old man in the shoulder. Acting Nassau Police Commissioner Thomas Krumpter says retired NYPD Sgt. Kenneth Krug grabbed Lee's gun and was able to detain Lee with the help of mall security.
Krug commented outside his North Baldwin home Wednesday that he was "just doing my job."
Prosecutors say the 67-year-old man who was shot has that bullet still lodged in his neck. He is expected to recover.
Lee was arraigned in Hempstead Wednesday on first-degree robbery charges, weapons possession and assault charges. He was ordered held on $750,000 bail.
Lee's neighbors in Little Neck, Queens, say they recently complained to police about suspected drug activity at his home.
Authorities say Lee is unemployed. Court records show his only prior criminal history was a marijuana arrest earlier this year.
As for the post on Lee's Facebook page, County Executive Ed Mangano is reminding people to "say something."
"If you see something on social media that doesn't look right, please report it through the Crime Stoppers app," says Mangano.