Police continue to investigate Friday’s deadly shooting inside Tompkins Square Park in the East Village that claimed a 74-year-old man’s life, and left another individual seriously wounded.
Law enforcement sources said the gunfire erupted at about 9:49 a.m. on July 12 inside the park located near the corner of East 7th Street and Avenue A.
Officers from the 9th Precinct, in responding to a 911 call about an assault in progress, found two victims at the location: a 74-year-old man shot in the back, and a 44-year-old man hit multiple times in the torso.
The circumstances leading up to the shooting remain unknown and under investigation, police sources said Saturday morning. At this time, it is not clear whether the two victims were the intended targets.
EMS rushed both victims to Bellevue Hospital, where the 74-year-old man was pronounced dead; police have not yet released his identity, pending family notification. The 44-year-old man, meanwhile, remains hospitalized at Bellevue in stable condition.
Detectives are now on the hunt for the suspected shooter, whom police sources described as a man wearing a black jacket, a black hat, a white mask, white gloves, blue jeans and sneakers, who was last seen fleeing on foot outside the park.
Friday’s daytime shooting was the second such incident at Tompkins Square Park this year. On March 16, a shooter opened fire on several men following a dispute, but wound up striking two bystanders and sending other parkgoers running for cover. The wounded bystanders would survive, and the suspected gunman — 38-year-old Waldemar Alverio — was apprehended days later.
Year-to-date, the 9th Precinct tallied just two shooting incidents through July 7, according to the most recent CompStat report; that’s one fewer than the three reported at the same point in 2023. The 9th Precinct had also seen one homicide, equaling the year-to-date total last year.
Anyone with information regarding Friday’s shooting at Tompkins Square Park, or the suspect’s whereabouts, 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.
