By Ivan Pereira
Police spent all night last Wednesday and most of the next morning combing the scene of a shooting that took place on the streets of Brookville.
Officers responded to a 911 call about a person shot around 6 p.m. Sept. 22 in front of a house near 146th Avenue and 226th Street, police said. Once they arrived there, they found an unidentified 24-year-old Latino shot numerous times about his body who was declared dead at the scene, according to police.
The incident took place when many of the residents of the block were just returning home from their jobs and many said they were shocked and confused at seeing dozens of investigators work the scene.
“I came in after 8 [p.m.],” said Yvonne Byfiele, who has lived on the block for more than 10 years. “The crime scene unit was there and there was a large police truck parked [at the corner].”
The police remained at the scene all night and still had the block cordoned off to residents the next morning. They were also doing a search of 226th Street and 147th Avenue, but did not disclose why they were looking at the area.
No suspects had been identified or arrested as of press time Tuesday evening, police said. The investigation was ongoing.
“I hope whatever it is, it’s resolved soon,” said one neighbor who asked not to be identified.
This is the 11th murder to take place within the jurisdiction of the 105th Precinct this year, the NYPD said. Last time during the same year, the precinct, which covers all of eastern Queens, had less than half of the number of homicides as in 2010, with five reported incidents, according to the latest police statistics.
Despite the surge in murders, overall crime is slightly down in the precinct over the last year, statistics show. There were 1,310 reported crimes this year compared to 1,314 incidents during the same period last year, according to the NYPD.
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.
