A 20-year-old man is dead, two other people are wounded after gunfire erupted in a parking lot of a Far Rockaway Queens garden apartment complex, police officials said.
Police were received a 911 call of people shot at 2 p.m. at 29-43B Far Rockaway Blvd. Police from the 101st Precinct arrived to find two of the three people wounded at the scene, including a 2o-year-old man hit in the abdomen and torso. EMS rushed him to St. John’s Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
A 19-year-old man was taken to Jamaica with a gunshot wound to the left leg. A 20-year-old woman was found nearby, suffering a wound to her left ankle and leg. She was also taken to Jamaica Hospital in stable condition.
Police fanned out through the parking lot, filled with late-model cars and an old Ford pick-up truck that appears to have been sitting for a long time. On the fences and walls surrounding the property were graffiti tags with gang insignia, some residents say.
Detectives were questioning several residents, including family members of the people who were shot at the scene. Spent shells were sitting on the ground marked by orange cones, one on a vehicle, on the steps of the two-story garden apartment residence and in the weeds surrounding the parking lot.
The area had been quiet for some time, residents say, one man identified as Justin, said he has lived in a neighboring private home development and had not heard anything going on.
“I just don’t know why they have to shoot each other, it makes no sense,” he sighed. “What is going on in this city? Why must people keep shooting? I just don’t know what can be done.”
Another woman describing herself as a concerned resident said, “it’s been quiet over here – mostly families just trying to make a living. I don’t understand what could be happening here. It’s usually very quiet and nobody bothers each other.”
Anyone with information in regard to this shooting is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also submit tips online at nypdcrimestoppers.com, or on Twitter @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are kept confidential.
