A Harlem man was charged Saturday with allegedly murdering a neighbor inside the apartment building where they lived, police reported.
Victor Springer, 35, faces a second-degree murder charge for the killing of Guillermo Edgardo Ortiz Palacios, 40, which occurred at about 3:15 a.m. on June 8 inside the residence at 2211 Frederick Douglass Blvd.
Officers from the 28th Precinct, in responding to a 911 call about an unconscious male inside the location, found Ortiz Palacios with head trauma.
EMS rushed him to Mount Sinai Morningside Hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later. His body was transferred to the Medical Examiner’s office for an autopsy to determine the official cause of death.
The motive for the murder remains unknown and under investigation, police sources said Saturday evening.
Detectives took Springer into custody shortly after arriving at the crime scene, and charged him after questioning. Police sources said it does not appear at this time that Springer and Ortiz Palacios knew each other.
Through June 2, the 28th Precinct saw two homicides, one less than had been reported year-to-date in 2023, according to the most recent CompStat report. Overall crime in the command is up 17.07% year-to-date, powered largely by robberies, grand larcenies and assaults.
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