By Ivan Pereira
The latest in a string of shootings in southeast Queens left one man dead and another fighting for his life Monday afternoon, police said.
An unidentified 30-year-old man was shot several times in the torso as he was getting out of his car at his residence at 144th Avenue and 224th Street in Brookville around 4 p.m., police said. A second unidentified man, 28, was also shot in the chest, according to police.
Both victims were rushed to Jamaica Hospital, where the older victim was declared dead while the other was listed in critical condition as of Tuesday night, investigators said.
Neighbors on the block, which is filled with single- and two-family homes, all heard the gunshots and raced out of their houses to see what was going on.
“By the time I came up the block, he was in the fetal position and dead,” said Maddie Nunerez, 18.
No suspects were identified and no arrests had been made as of Tuesday night. The investigation was ongoing, according to police.
Officers spent the entire evening closing off the block and talking to the residents of the two-family home where the dead man lived to try to get more answers.
Neighbors said they did not know too much about the victims. A person living next to the man who was killed said he had moved into the neighborhood a little over a year ago.
Tiffany Johnson, who has lived in the block all her life, said she was shocked that something this violent occurred near her home.
“This does not happen around here at all,” the 31-year-old woman said.
Murders and other violent crimes have been on the rise in southeast Queens this year and the 105th Precinct has seen a major surge, police statistics show.
This week’s murder is the 15th to take place in the precinct’s massive jurisdiction, which includes Queens Village, Cambria Heights, Laurelton, Rosedale, Springfield Gardens, Bellerose, Glen Oaks, New Hyde Park and Floral Park.
At the same time last year, there were seven reported homicides, according to NYPD statistics dated for Nov. 21.
Patrol Borough Queens South, which includes the 105th Precinct along with the 100th, 101st, 102nd, 103rd, 106th, 107th and 113th precincts, has had 64 homicides in 2010 compared to 49 during the same period last year — a change of nearly 31 percent, statistics show.
City Councilman James Sanders (D-Laurelton) said the increased violence should prompt the city to create a new precinct in the neighborhood to alleviate the 105th’s sharp rise in incidents.
“We implore the city to recognize the growing threat that violent crime is posing to our communities, our families and our children. How many more lives have to be taken before we take swift action to counteract this growing plague infecting our streets and neighborhoods?” he asked in a statement.
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.
