Harlem saw a deadly daytime shooting on Tuesday afternoon that left a man dead, and residents horrified.
According to police sources, the gun violence unfolded at about 1:39 p.m. on July 2 near the corner of West 118th Street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard.
Officers from the 28th Precinct responded to the location and found a man of an unknown age shot in the back.
EMS rushed the wounded victim to Mount Sinai Morningside Hospital, by EMS where he was pronounced dead. Police have not yet released his identity, pending family notification.
So far, the NYPD did not have information about a possible motive of the shooting. Officers at the scene were spotted huddled over debris and a spent shell casing.
During the investigation, police located an abandoned Honda several blocks away, near the intersection of West 118th Street and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard. Sources familiar with the investigation believe the ride, which had been ditched in the middle of the roadway, was used by the shooting suspect.
Chaplain Robert Rice, who responds to shootings as part of a clergy response, was at the crime scene on West 118th Street talking with locals and police officers. Rice told amNewYork Metro that he is urging the gunman to turn himself in.
“For the shooter, turn yourself in because you don’t have that right to shoot nobody,” Rice said. “People are concerned right now.”
The 28th Precinct has seen seven shootings during the first six months of 2024, according to the most recent CompStat report; that’s two more than the five reported at the same point in 2023. Meanwhile, the command reported three homicides year-to-date, equal to the number at the same time last year.
So far, no arrests have been made in the ongoing investigation into Tuesday’s murder, police said.
Anyone with information regarding the attack 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.
