By Karen Frantz
Police were investigating a shooting that left one man dead and another injured after a brawl in a Richmond Hill billiards hall early Saturday morning, according to the NYPD and witnesses. As of Tuesday, no one had been arrested, according to the NYPD.
Michael Tineo, a 21-year-old man from Brooklyn, was pronounced dead from a gunshot wound to his back after police responded to reports of gunfire on 102nd Street and Jamaica Avenue around 2:30 a.m., authorities said.
Police also found another 17-year-old Hispanic man with a gunshot wound to his torso at the scene, according to the NYPD. The teen was taken to Jamaica Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition, authorities said.
According to witnesses, the two men were involved in a fight that broke out at Rack Em-Up Billiards, at 102-14 Jamaica Ave.
Jai Dasrath, who lives in the neighborhood, said he heard from others in the community that a number of people were in the billiards hall, “shooting the pool, you know,” when the fight started and “the proprietor put them out on the road.”
Dasrath said the fight continued up the block near the corner of 102nd Street and 86th Road, where he said he believed the two men were shot. He said he was not sure who shot them.
A police officer was posted at that corner Sunday morning, next to a front yard fence with remnants of yellow police tape tied to the rails.
William Hussong, a New York City Transit Authority employee, said he was returning home from work Saturday morning when he saw the crime scene at the corner. He said there were placards with numbers printed on them going up to No. 11 on the ground. The NYPD often uses the placards to mark locations for evidence, including shell casings..
Hussong said the neighborhood was relatively safe, and although he had heard of violence on the nearby subway, it did not often spill out into the community.
“On the street here it’s been quiet,” he said. “[It’s the] next generation of hell-raisers with nothing better to do,” he added.
One woman, Zenobia Vidal, who said she lives nearby, said she heard a rumor from neighbors that the violence was the work of a gang.
She said she was stunned to hear of the shooting.
“I’m so surprised because nothing like that really happened here before,” she said.
An employee at the pool hall said Sunday that the violence had not originated at the venue, and multiple other attempts to reach Rack Em-Up Billiards at the phone number listed were unsuccessful.
Reach reporter Karen Frantz by e-mail at kfrantz@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4538.
