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QUEENS (CBS/AP) ― The search for a key missing witness in the killing of an unarmed man who died in a hail of 50 police bullets intensified Thursday with the arrest of four people who have provided clues about the identity of the mysterious witness, a law enforcement official said.

At a news conference, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said the Wednesday raid that led to the arrests was related to the shooting investigation. He refused to elaborate.

Another law enforcement official later told The Associated Press that the arrests of three men and one woman on gun charges had produced information about the identity of an important witness to the shooting. That witness was possibly with the three victims on Saturday when officers fired 50 shots at their car, somehow escaped and disappeared. The victims deny that such a person exists.

Officers armed with a search warrant raided the Queens apartment, a known drug-dealing location, based on a tip that "persons of interest" lived there, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is still under way. It was unclear if a loaded semiautomatic pistol recovered inside the home had any connection to last week's incident, the official added.

The shooting killed 23-year-old Sean Bell on his wedding day and wounded two of his companions, setting off a storm of outrage in New York.

An unnamed undercover shooter and four others -- identified as detectives Mike Oliver, Mark Cooper and Paul Hedley and Officer Mike Carey -- have been placed on paid administrative leave while the Queens District Attorney's office conducts a grand jury investigation that could result in criminal charges.

The intensity of the search for the mysterious fourth man reflected its potential impact on a case rife with conflicting accounts and unanswered questions about why the five officers unleashed the barrage of bullets.

An undercover officer has told investigators that another missing witness -- a man dressed in black and standing in from of a sport utility vehicle -- argued with Bell and his companions as they exited the club where Bell was having a bachelor party. The officer was part of a vice team investigating complaints about prostitution and drug dealing at the club.

Outside the club, the man in black reached into his pocket as if he had a weapon as Bell challenged him to a fight and one of the groom's friends said, "Yo, get my gun," two law enforcement officials said, citing the undercover officer's account.

Officials said the exchange prompted a second undercover detective to follow Bell and three other men as they walked away toward their car, apparently suspecting the men meant to arm themselves and attack the man in black.

Moments later, the second undercover officer started shooting at the car when Bell, while trying to drive away, bumped him and smashed into an unmarked police van.

Through his lawyer, the detective has insisted that he clearly identified himself as a police officer as he tried to stop them. He also has said he spotted Joseph Guzman, then sitting in the passenger seat, make a sudden move for his waistband before he and four other officers opened fire.

Police union officials have suggested that a fourth man could have fled with the gun -- a scenario investigators haven't ruled out.

"The existence of a fourth person is important to this investigation," Kelly said.

Meanwhile, the hospitalized survivors, Guzman and Trent Benefield, still insist there was never a fourth person involved, their lawyer said Thursday.

"There were three people in the car -- period," said the attorney, Sanford Rubenstein. "The claim of a fourth person is a myth."

At the police news conference, Kelly announced the formation of a new committee to "review the policies and procedures governing the activities of undercover officers throughout the New York Police Department." Aside from NYPD brass, the committee will include Cedric Alexander, a former police chief in Rochester, N.Y., and now an official for the state Division of Criminal Justice Services.

Bell's funeral is scheduled for Friday at the church where he was to be married.

(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)