A dozen shot, two killed, during bloody night in NYC: police

A dozen people were shot — two fatally — across the five boroughs during a bloody 15-hour span, police said Saturday.

Six people were shot in the Bronx, four in Brooklyn, one in Manhattan and one in Queens in six separate incidents between 2:30 p.m. Friday and 5 a.m. Saturday, where a 27-year-old man was found shot in the head outside a Dominican restaurant on White Plains Road in Parkchester, cops said.

The bloodshed began in the Bronx Friday afternoon, when a gunman sprayed bullets outside a Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen at East Tremont Ave. and Hughes Ave. in Tremont around 2:30 p.m., cops said.

The bloodshed began in the Bronx Friday afternoon, when a gunman sprayed bullets outside a Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen at East Tremont Ave. and Hughes Ave. in Tremont around 2:30 p.m., cops said. (Barry Willilams/for New York Daily News)

Four people were struck by bullets including 24-year-old Jeremiah Smith, who was fatally shot in the chest. He died later at St. Barnabas Hospital.

A 37-year-old man also shot outside the Popeye’s was in critical condition at St. Barnabas Saturday with a gunshot wound to his chest, police said. Two other men, age 58 and 36, were struck in the ankle and buttocks and were treated and released.

“The fight was outside the store. There were at least four shots, maybe more,” Popeyes clerk Abdurhan Shabbir, 28, told the Daily News. “One man was lying on the ground shot and bleeding. Another guy ran into the store holding his back saying he was shot.”

Cops took Salvatore Rivera, 51, into custody at the scene, later charging him with murder, manslaughter, assault and weapons possession.

Video from the scene obtained by the Daily News clearly showed that Rivera was the lone shooter. A second man who appears to be armed also shows up in the video, but it’s unclear if he got off any shots.

Rivera’s arraignment in Bronx Criminal Court was pending Saturday.

About two and a half hours later, four more people were wounded in a drive-by shooting in Coney Island, cops said.

The victims were standing outside the High Moon Smoke Shop on Mermaid Ave. near W. 33rd St. just before 5 p.m. when someone in a passing maroon minivan began blasting away at them.

“The car stopped in front of the store, and they started shooting,” said Zulqarnian Ali, who works in a deli next to the smoke shop. “The shooting was quick. Too many shots to count. One guy ran into our store then fell on the floor. A bunch of them rushed through and into the back lot. They were running and scared.”

Police investigate a shooting on Mermaid Ave. and W. 33rd St. in Coney Island, Brooklyn, on Friday. (Gardiner Anderson/for New York Daily News)

Panicked witnesses dragged the wounded into the two stores for cover as the minivan sped off.

The victims were between 17 and 25. Three of them had been shot in the leg while the youngest was hit in the chest, cops said. All were taken to area hospitals and were expected to survive.

At least one of the four victims was the intended target, a police source with knowledge of the case said.

Rashawn Thompson, the brother of the oldest victim, who he identified as Rahmel, said his sibling had nothing to do with the bloodshed.

“He was just hanging out with his friends,” Thompson, 27, said. “He was in front of the store. They rolled up and started shooting from inside the car.”

No arrests have been made.

The victims were standing outside the High Moon Smoke Shop on Mermaid Ave. near W. 33rd St. just before 5 p.m. when someone in a passing maroon minivan began blasting away at them. (Gardiner Anderson/for New York Daily News)

As the night drew on two other men, one in the Bronx and one in Manhattan, were shot, but not fatally. Details of the shooting were not immediately disclosed.

At 4 a.m. Saturday, a man walked into Queens Hospital Center in Hillcrest with a gunshot wound to his leg, cops said. The man was driven to the hospital and cops were trying to figure out where he was shot Saturday.

An hour later, a 27-year-old man was shot in the head as he stood outside a vehicle on White Plains Road in Parkchester, cops said. The shots came from a passing minivan, but it wasn’t immediately clear if the victim was the intended target.

A 27-year-old man was shot in the head as he stood outside a vehicle on White Plains Road in Parkchester Saturday morning. (Theodore Parisienne/for New York Daily News)

EMS rushed the man to Jacobi Hospital, where he died. His name was not immediately released as cops track down relatives.

No arrests have been made.

Police said that 11 people were shot in five incidents on Friday. Only one homicide was reported.

A Honda Accord is seen here with three bullet holes in it Saturday morning on White Plains Rd. in Parkchester. (Theodore Parisienne/for New York Daily News)

As of Friday, 123 people had been shot in 99 incidents, a 19% drop from this time last year, when 151 people were shot in 134 incidents, cops said.

Cops ended 2022 with an 11% drop in homicides and a 17% reduction in shootings compared with 2021, police said.

Source: nydailynews.com