By Ivan Pereira
Police were looking for whoever was responsible for killing a 38-year-old father inside his Queens Village home during a burglary Tuesday morning.
Officers received a 911 phone call about a break-in at a house at Francis Lewis Boulevard and 110th Avenue around 11 a.m. and found Leslie Huggins dead from a gunshot wound to the head, police said.
Neighbors said the block turned into an active crime scene as officers searched for the murderer.
“My cousin was just walking down the street and a few minutes later he saw all the cop cars,” said Christian Howard, 18, who lives a few doors down from the burglarized home.
No suspects had been named or arrested as of press time Tuesday and the investigation was ongoing. A man who was seen talking with investigators at length refused to speak with reporters about the situation.
The victim had been new to the neighborhood, according to neighbors, and kept to himself.
One neighborhood resident, Araseli Bennett, 23, said she saw two suspicious men walking near the victim’s home around the time of the shooting. The woman said she had never seen the two men, who she said were speaking Creole, before in the neighborhood.
Bennett noticed they remained in the vicinity of the victim’s home.
“They were walking behind me,” she said.
This is the first murder to take place this year in the 105th Precinct, which covers the neighborhoods of Queens Village, Cambria Heights, Laurelton, Rosedale, Springfield Gardens, Bellerose, Glen Oaks, New Hyde Park and Floral Park.
Anyone with information is urged to call Crimestoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS, text their tips to 274637 then enter TIP577 or log on to nypdcrimestoppers.com. All reports will be kept confidential.
Reach reporter Ivan Pereira by e-mail at ipereira@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4546.
