New York State Police have launched a criminal probe into a trooper who claimed he was shot and wounded by an unknown gunman on a Long Island highway last week.

New York State Police have launched an investigation into a trooper who said he was shot and wounded while trying to help a motorist on a Long Island highway.

The trooper, Thomas Mascia, 27, was suspended without pay this week, New York State Police Major Stephen Udice said at a press briefing on Wednesday. He said the agency was conducting both criminal and internal investigations into the circumstances of the shooting that Mascia reported as happening around 11:45 p.m. last Wednesday.