NYPD officials announced Monday evening that they have identified a suspect wanted in connection with a shooting in Ridgewood that killed a 51-year-old civilian NYPD staffer and critically injured the other.
Authorities say that at approximately 8:15 a.m. on May 9, officers responded to a 911 call at 66-17 Fresh Pond Rd., where they discovered two females with gunshot wounds after what appeared to be an incidence of domestic violence.
According to Deputy Chief Julie Morrow, the commanding officer of Queens North, the 51-year-old victim — later identified as Migdalia Ortega, who lived at the location, suffered a gunshot wound to the head, and a 48-year-old woman sustained a shot to the abdomen and shoulder.
Both women were taken to area hospitals, where Ortega was pronounced dead at 11:22 a.m. According to Morrow, the second victim remains in critical but stable condition.
“A preliminary investigation indicates that this began as a domestic incident between the 51-year-old female and a male in the third-floor apartment,” Morrow said. “During the dispute, the 48-year-old second-floor neighbor went to check on the third-floor occupants. She was then shot and fled back to her apartment. The male suspect followed her and continued shooting.”
Police are still unsure how this shooting played out but said there were shell casings throughout the hallway of the apartment building.
According to officials, the 55-year-old male suspect, later identified as Pedro Cintron, fled the scene.
NYPD has yet to make any arrests.
Officials said Ortega worked for the NYPD Information Technology Bureau, with 11 years in service. The family is receiving support from the NYPD Employee Assistance Unit, according to Morrow.
“We are doing everything we can to comfort them in this difficult time,” Morrow said.
Morrow added that there were no prior reports of domestic violence between these people.
Assistant Chief Galen Frierson said that the family of the 51-year-old victim is grieving at this time and asked the public and members of the press to respect their privacy after losing one of their own today.
“There are no words to explain exactly how we feel,” Frierson said. “We feel deeply for the family.”
