By Joe Anuta
A high school for special education students was shut down Wednesday after a 41-year-old man was shot in broad daylight nearby, the NYPD and teachers said.
At about 11 a.m. police responded to a 911 call of a man shot in the leg on the corner of 57th Avenue and 94th Street, right across the street from John F. Kennedy Jr. School, which serves about 450 students with special needs.
Neighbors heard several shots and one woman who lives in an apartment complex across the street said her upstairs neighbor called police before she glanced out her window.
“I saw him hopping on one leg,” said Kirsy Rodriguez, who was making coffee at the time. “A man took off his shirt and wrapped it around his leg.”
Police arrived and blocked off the street in front of the school, where teachers began shuffling the students into predesignated safe areas.
The youths were locked down for about 45 minutes, according to one school employee who did not want to be named, although the students were not as concerned as teachers, who along with police feared the gunman might have run inside.
“We all thought that, too,” said John Serrano, a paraprofessional at the school.
Police discussing the case at the scene said the 41-year-old and another person were crossing the street when a man approached from behind and opened fire.
The 41-year-old man was taken to Elmhurst Hospital, where police said he was expected to live.
The suspect was described as a black male wearing a hooded sweatshirt who fled the scene on foot. No arrests had been made as of Wednesday afternoon, according to the NYPD.
Victor Sanchez said the daylight shooting was highly unusual for the area.
“This never happens in this area,” said Sanchez, an eight-year resident. “It’s not dangerous around here.”
Others said, however, crime sometimes occurs in neighboring areas, including nearby LeFrak Houses.
Reach reporter Joe Anuta by e-mail at januta@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.
