Two Men Shot Dead on 40th Street

Update: Comments have been turned off for this post due to too much back and forth that has become personal towards me and other commenters. If anyone has constructive suggestions about how to improve the site, feel free to use the email address on the upper-right hand side, or start your own weblog for the neighborhood. If you just want attention, move along.

I heard about this yesterday morning, but didn't want to post anything until I knew something for sure. Two men were shot and killed at about 4 AM on Sunday morning. Apparently, they had just left a bar on 39th Street and 5th (Hmmmm, I wonder which one?), and an argument with other bar-goers turned fatal. One of the men killed was only 18; the other was 21. According to one police officer in the park, there is speculation that this was also gang related. Not a huge leap there.

That cool, comfortable sleeping weather means open windows, so many Sunset residents heard helicopters around the area from 5 AM to almost 6 AM on Sunday. Usually it's due to traffic or accidents on the BQE, but early Sunday is a strange time for that.

In both this shooting and the other shooting (just three weeks ago?), the men died from bullet wounds to the head and neck. Shoot to kill - not warn seems to be the trend here.

As of this morning, the shooters are yet to be apprehended. Hopefully the detectives and officers can make quick work of the shooters as they did with the park murders.

Friends of Sunset Park Responds with Ideas to Better the Park - and You are Needed

There's a new post on the Friends of Sunset Park website. It is a response to the murders of two men a week ago, and it is a call to action from the residents of Sunset Park. It includes asking for active participation in community meetings, and it mentions being active in responding (via 311/911) to dangerous or disturbing situations in the park.

Here's an excerpt:

And, what, you ask, can WE do? YOU & I, the hard-working, peace-loving and responsible majority of Sunset Parkers:

• will attend as many 72nd Precinct Council Monthly meetings as possible- always held on the second (2nd) Tuesday of the month.
• will frequent their park in greater and greater numbers at whatever hour they wish;
• will report (call/email) to 311 (with copy to the Friends of Sunset Park- friendsofsunsetpark@yahoo.com , please) when garbage accumulates, vandalism occurs, graffiti appears, lampposts are broken, bathrooms are broken and/or dirty, tree limbs are cracked and about to fall on some one's head, benches are broken or paint is peeling;
• will call 911 (with copy to the Friends of Sunset Park- friendsofsunsetpark@yahoo.com , please) when you witness patrons gambling, using/selling controlled substances, urinating and defecating in public;
• will take our garbage with us and place it in a garbage can. If you see someone leaving an area and not taking their garbage with them, point politely (and with a smile) to the garbage and to the nearest garbage can. If you think additional garbage cans are needed, call 311 and request them- please call/email FoSP to let us know that you've contacted 311;

Sunset Park Shooters Caught

Update: More info from The Village Voice.
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According to officers in the 72nd Precinct, three men have been apprehended for the murders of two men in our park on Monday evening. The shooting was apparently gang-related.

Congratulations to the 72nd on the quick and effective detective work.

Two Men Shot Dead in Sunset Park

Updated links:

The park is cordoned off on the 7th and 41st side, and there are a couple of officers standing by to stop anyone from crossing through that way.

Friends of Sunset Park has a posting
NY Daily News
Gothamist has links to 1010WINS and NY Daily News
NY1 has a video and article
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Last night two men were killed around 7th Avenue and 41st Street. If it was the shots I heard, it was around 8 PM. But then it could have been fire-crackers.

Here's a link. I'll add more later for those who are interested.

Sunset Shooting Connected to Indictments of Drug Ring

A recent shooting in Sunset Park, on 51st between 4th and 5th, led to the indictments of local drug dealers. According to yesterday's New York Times City Room article, six people are charged with attemped murder, and there are 88 counts related to drug dealing. See the article for the details.

2nd Update, less speculation, About Monday

Apparently, police are now interviewing people who have first-hand information about Monday night's shooting. According to a Sunset Park resident who lives on the park, her neighbor, a witness to the incident, said detectives were coming by tonight to gather information. She also shared that a 13 year old girl was the shooting victim, and that the person who fired the shots was also very young.

If the ages are correct, it's an even more pathetic and sad incident.

Update (sort of, including speculation) on the Shots Fired Monday Night

I've had several emails asking me if anything new has been found out about the "alleged" shots fired on Monday night. The short answer is: Nothing official. As of yesterday (there was no answer this morning), the 72nd Precinct asserts that there was no shooting - and no shots fired - on Monday evening in or around 6th Avenue and 44th Street (near the entrance of Sunset Park). According to a 72nd Precinct Community Council Member, there was a domestic disturbance in the area, but nothing that included shots or weapons.

There have been two main versions of what people saw/heard/believe happened. And while human beings are notoriously poor at being eye witnesses, it seems that SOME incident did, in fact, occur. Here's a run-down of what has come my way by way of comments, emails, and neighbors:

1. I was swimming laps in the pool when two shots rang out; cops and EMS came and one of the lifeguards reported that the someone had been shot but by he (or she) had run off.

2. We heard the shots and ran to the window to see what happened. It seems that someone got shot but ran away...there were lots of people screaming and running in all directions; the police got there pretty fast though.

3. Neighbors say that the car drove on 44th Street and shot into the park from the street just past 6th Avenue.

4. It's a fact, unfortunately. I live...right at that corner and a woman in our building was walking by when it happened and saw the whole thing. It was right outside the playground...apparently there was an argument and then he pulled out a gun and shot into the air...everyone was afraid to tell the police anything b/c the rumor was that it was gang related.


Obviously, the police and an ambulance responded to something within minutes of two shots being fired. Could both described versions (one with shots from a car into the park, one with someone shooting into the air near the playground) have occurred? Well, two shots seems to be the consistent number, and it's possible, considering the proximity of the 6th Avenue entrance to the playground, that one person near the playground argued with another person in a car and shots were fired as a warning. However, several people have mentioned someone running away with a wound of some kind. Since hospitals are required to report all gun shots, it's likely that no one showed up to a hospital.

While it's understandable that someone would be nervous about reporting information if gangs were involved, it seems that shots were fired within feet of the playground...and the playground was busy and full at the time. Even shots that go into the air need to adhere to gravity at some point. If we shrug and say "Well, no one got hurt" or "It was only shots fired" this time, it shows these thugs that they are safe from repercussions and from a watchful community. NYC in 2008 has already had far too many incidents where children were hurt or killed by stray bullets. Do a google search for 2008 NYC Children Stay Bullet and see what comes up.

Again, according the precinct, no 911 or precinct calls were made regarding the incident (although I wonder how they arrived so quickly). If anyone saw anything regarding this incident, call the precinct to report it: 718 965 6311. And if there is no answer (like this morning), call the Community Affairs office at 718 965 6326; they have an answering machine. Otherwise, as a last resort since this is not an immediate incident, you can call 911.

Sunset Park Shootings?

Last night, just around 8 PM, we heard two pops that sounded like they were just up the street. I always say it's just fireworks; my husband always says it's gunfire. A few minutes later a police car or two sped by followed by an ambulance. I had a meeting to attend, so I walked by the park at about 8:20 PM to see the swings full of kids, the ice cream vendors doing good business, and lots of people standing around chatting. There was also a police car stationed at the park entrance on 6th Avenue and 44th Street. Still, I suppose because of the happily swinging kids, I figured it had been some park silliness or the drunks throwing bricks at the ice cream vendors again, and went on my way.

Upon returning home, I had an email from a neighbor that said a drive by had occurred at the 6th Ave and 44th entrance. A drive by shooting into the park. So far, I haven't found any evidence of it (other than the previously mentioned police car and pops), but I also found out there had been "shots fired" at 66th and 4th (technically Bay Ridge?) just about 8 PM. Related? Speculation is that the drive by, at least, is a gang related issue.

More than anything, I'm angry that some machismo scheisskopf has the chutzpah (yes, I'm mixing languages) to shoot into a park filled with children and families. Get over yourself. It shows cowardice and a total lack of self-respect. Shooting into a busy park from a moving car? Someone has seen too many slow-motion movie scenes. Obviously, and thankfully, no one was hurt.

Hopefully, this will turn out to be just rumor and not fact. Somehow, my head tells me it's not.