By Sarina Trangle
Neighbors in a Kew Gardens apartment complex were shocked to hear a bullet cut through the air on Christmas Eve and then see emergency responders rush a man wearing a g-string thong and bra into an ambulance.
Police said the victim was brought to Jamaica Hospital with a gunshot wound to the head in critical condition. He was expected to survive.
Residents at 119-14 Union Tnpk. said they believed the victim was involved with prostitution before the shooting, but did not expect his behavior to culminate into a pool of blood and an unwrapped condom spilling out from under his fourth floor apartment door.
One man who lives in the building said he and his wife heard a scuffle and shouting shortly after 8 p.m. Dec. 24. A gunshot sounded, followed by the patter of someone running down the stairs.
The neighbor said his wife called the police and rushed upstairs, where she saw the victim bleeding in a thong and bra. She urged the victim’s friend to use a towel to put pressure on his wounds until paramedics arrived and carried him out. Police and the neighbors described the shooter as a black man believed to be about 25 with a 6-foot, 160-pound frame. Authorities said he was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt. Neighbors reported that he was carrying a long silver pistol.
Neither the NYPD, Jamaica Hospital nor the Queens district attorney’s office would discuss the victim’s condition.
Neighbors said the victim was often seen leading people who did not appear familiar with the area from the courtyard up to his apartment. There was often traffic coming in and out of his fourth floor home.
“I’ve seen him meeting them out from and exchanging money,” said one resident, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of his safety.
A second resident said he confronted the victim after many tenants complained that strangers were knocking on their doors looking for him. The victim denied that he was involved in prostitution and said he had many friends who often came to visit him.
“He was very friendly and respectful,” said the neighbor, who also requested to remain anonymous. “It’s just the kind of people he would bring around.”
Reach reporter Sarina Trangle at 718-260-4546 or by e-mail at strangle@cnglocal.com.
