A man was fatally shot on the Grand Concourse in the Bronx in the early hours of the morning, News 12 reported, in an attack that has left investigators searching for a gunman who remains at large. The killing unfolded on one of the borough's major thoroughfares and quickly drew a heavy police presence as officers worked to secure the scene and begin piecing together what had happened.
According to the account, police responded to a call of an assault on the Grand Concourse just after two in the morning. When officers arrived, a man was found shot in the chest and groin area. He was taken to the hospital but did not survive his injuries, turning what had been reported as an assault into a deadly shooting that is now the subject of a homicide investigation.
Hours later, police blocked off the entrance to 2051 Grand Concourse as the investigation got under way. Investigators were seen placing evidence markers throughout the Grand Concourse and along East Burnside Avenue, just steps from a trail of blood. The methodical sweep of the area pointed to the seriousness of the case and the effort to recover any clues left behind at the scene.
The shooting comes a day after new data released by the NYPD showed a decline in gun violence and major crimes across the first five months of the year. The timing drew a pointed contrast for residents, with the deadly incident landing just as official figures suggested that violence in the city had been trending downward over recent months.
Neighbors passing the crime scene said the bloodshed did not match the reassurance offered by the statistics. One said they were shocked even though such incidents had been happening lately all over New York, while another, asked whether the violence made them afraid, said they tried not to live in fear but acknowledged having to be careful while walking the streets of the neighborhood.
Investigators may also face an added hurdle in gathering evidence. Two surveillance cameras point directly at the crime scene, but the building superintendent told News 12 that they had not been working for more than two years. With no functioning footage from those cameras, police were left with little to go on as they searched for the person responsible for the killing.
The address in the Longwood neighborhood of the Bronx has a grim history. In 2018, 25-year-old Lisa Marie Velasquez was murdered inside the same building, and her remains were later found in two area parks. Relatives said she had gone to help a friend having trouble with her boyfriend, Daquan Wheeler, who was arrested and charged with her murder, while the friend was charged and later released after cooperating with prosecutors. The case became a News 12 Crime Files episode titled Death Strikes Twice.