After nearly a year, NYPD homicide detectives arrested a Brooklyn man who allegedly murdered another man in cold blood in Far Rockaway during a fatal shooting that was caught on surveillance video.
Police from the 101st Precinct responded to the scene at 624 Grassmere Terrace at about 8:20 p.m. on the night of March 26, 2022, after receiving a ShotSpotter activation in the area where the shooting occurred. They found 26-year-old Peter Panthier, of Montauk Avenue in Cypress Hills, Brooklyn, lying in a pool of blood on a driveway at the location. EMS responded to the crime scene and rushed Panthier to St. John’s Episcopal Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries, according to the NYPD.
Jovan Springer, 29, of Belmont Avenue in Cypress Hills was taken into custody on Jan. 29 and booked at the 101st Precinct in Far Rockaway, where he was charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon.
Detectives believe Springer is the man caught on the chilling security camera footage walking alongside Panthier on the driveway when he suddenly pulled out a handgun and blasted the victim in his head at point-blank range. Although only one muzzle flash is seen in the black-and-white footage, Panthier suffered gunshot wounds to the left side of his neck and head before collapsing onto the pavement as Springer sprinted away from the crime scene.
An NYPD spokesman could not provide a motive for the shooting or any details on how Springer was arrested on Sunday. His arraignment is pending.
ShotSpotter is the NYPD’s network of sensors designed to detect possible sounds of gunfire and prompt an immediate police response.
