A Brooklyn dollar van driver is dead after a rival van driver pulled up alongside him in East Flatbush and allegedly opened fire after a dispute on Sunday, law enforcement sources said.
According to police sources, the brazen afternoon incident occurred outside of 837 Utica Ave. in East Flatbush at around 12:55 p.m. on Jan. 12.
Based on a preliminary investigation, police believe the victim, a 25-year-old man, was operating a dollar van at the location when the suspect, believed to be a competing driver, pulled up alongside and opened fire.
Cops said the 25-year-old driver was struck in the arm. Seconds after the shooting, he crashed his vehicle into a nearby white car.
Officers from the 67th Precinct responded to the incident. EMS rushed the wounded driver to Kings County Hospital in critical condition; he died just over an hour later. Police have not yet released his identity, pending family notification.
Cops have not commented on whether there were passengers aboard at the time of the shooting.
Dollar vans are an unlicensed transportation service that picks up passengers and drives them to destination points for less than an MTA bus. However, law enforcement sources say the operators have been known to get into disputes over territory and passenger pick-ups in the past.
While police reported that the two drivers got into some kind of dispute, sources close to the case also say investigators are looking into whether the deadly shooting could have been a result of either a turf war or poaching clientele.
“This was an all too common scene in the 90s with the dollar vans racing up and down here picking up,” said Patty King, an East Flatbush resident. “I saw this happen so many times back then.”
So far, police have not made any arrests in the case. Sources did not yet provide a description of the shooter.
Anyone with information regarding this shooting can call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS (for Spanish, dial 888-57-PISTA). You can also submit tips online at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, or on X (formerly Twitter) @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are kept confidential.
