Two people were shot dead in Queens and the Bronx, and four others — including two young girls — were injured in other episodes of gun violence across the city between Saturday night and Sunday morning, police said.
Both fatal shootings happened early on Nov. 1, with the first at 1:23 a.m. at the corner of Broadway and 81st Street in Jackson Heights, Queens.
According to police, a 27-year-old man was riding inside a livery cab traveling northbound on Broadway at the intersection when two unidentified males rode up alongside on a moped and began firing shots. One of them struck the victim in the chest.
It’s unclear, at this point, why the suspects opened fire, or whether the victim was the intended target.
Officers from the 110th Precinct and EMS units responded to the scene. Paramedics rushed the victim to Elmhurst Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Police have withheld his identity, pending family notification.
The second fatality occurred just 20 minutes later in the Bronx, at 1:43 a.m. on Nov. 1, when cops from the 49th Precinct received a call of a male shot at 2143 Barnes Ave. in Morris Park.
Upon arriving at the scene, police found a 36-year-old unconscious man with gunshot wounds to the neck and chest. Paramedics rushed him to Jacobi Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
There was no description of the assailant or motive at this time. The victim has not yet been identified.
The other shootings earlier on Halloween, with the first occurring in South Harlem at 3:45 p.m. in front of the Taft Houses, a NYCHA development at 201 West 117th St.
That’s where cops found a 21-year-old man was found shot in the chest and back. The victim was reported in stable condition at Mount Sinai West Hospital, but detectives say he has been “uncooperative” in the investigation.
In a more sinister incident, at 7:04 p.m., three innocent bystanders were struck by bullets outside the Fine Fare Supermarket at 130 Lenox Ave. in Harlem.
Officers from the 28th Precinct found a 33-year-old female shot in the right arm. She was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in stable condition.
Later, authorities said, a 39-year-old man with gunshot wound to the arm and his 8-year-old daughter with a bullet wound to the knee showed up at Harlem Hospital having escaped the gunfire with their lives.
Police believe two men exchanged gunfire outside the store and all three people may have all been unintended targets. Detectives were going through store video and talking to witnesses to identify the assailants involved in the shooting.
The bullets kept flying in Harlem on Saturday night. At 8:15 p.m. on Oct. 31, a 28-year-old man was shot in the back of the head in the lobby of a residential building at 2430 7th Ave. in Harlem.
He was taken to Harlem Hospital and is recovering. Cops said he could not tell detectives from the 32nd Precinct who had shot him.
Finally, at 10:30 p.m. on Oct. 31, residents celebrating Halloween in front of 721 Willoughby Ave. in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, became embroiled in a dispute with another group.
That led to one group firing shots, authorities said. A 14-year-old girl was struck in the leg by one of the bullets, officers from the 81st Precinct said.
The girl was taken to Maimonides Hospital where she was in stable condition. There were no arrests or description of the suspects at this time.
Dog helps stop carjacking suspect
In a related gun incident early that evening, cops from the 81st Precinct were busy pursuing a carjacking suspect, after the armed attacker stole a black BMW in Bedford-Stuyvesant at about 6 p.m.
Police spotted the vehicle on Malcolm X Boulevard and cornered him at Madison Street, where the suspect smashed into a trailer.
The suspect then took off on foot into the rear of 87 Madison St., with police giving chase. Moments later, authorities said, the cops observed the suspect cornered in the yard by a large pitbull.
The dog’s owners were able to corral the K9 hero so that police could take the suspects into custody.
Swarms of officers were searching for the gun last night used in the robbery, but its not clear if the weapon was recovered at this time. The suspect has not yet been identified, pending charges.
Victim identified in homicide
Police identified a 32-year-old man who was shot early Saturday morning in Flatlands, Brooklyn.
Sheldon Nyack, 32, of East 56th Street in Flatlands, was brought into Brookdale Hospital by friends at about 1:52 a.m. on Oct. 31 with a gunshot wound to the chest. He later died during surgery to remove the bullet.
Police from the 63rd Precinct revealed that the Nyack resident was shot in front of 5301 Avenue H in Flatlands, but provided few other details in the case.
Anyone with information in regard to this incident or any of the other shootings is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also submit tips online at nypdcrimestoppers.com, or on Twitter @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are kept confidential.
