The young man who was shot in the leg at Campos Plaza has come forward to identify himself and to describe the horror of being stalked by a gunman in the early hours of Monday morning.
David Cruz, 24, told The Local that he and a friend were walking back to his apartment on East 13th Street, between Avenues B and C, shortly after midnight when he noticed “a navy blue or black car creeping,” and then saw it double parked. “We looked towards the car, and I noticed somebody jump out the car with an all-black hoodie on, covering his face,” he said.
The man quickly approached. “He started to run towards me and my friend. We ran towards East 12th Street, when he shot the first fire at me. My friend proceeded to run towards the basketball court and I proceeded to run towards the 635 East 12th Street tunnel when he shot the second fire that hit me.” The shooter wordlessly fired another two or three rounds that missed their target, said Mr. Cruz.
“When I got shot, it went in through the back of my thigh, and the bullet left the front of my thigh,” he said. “It was half an inch away from my artery and about an inch away from the main bone on my thigh.” Read more…
Animal Care and ControlStar chews on a toy, undeterred by her missing eye.
The pit bull who took a bullet from a police officer on 14th Street and lived to tell the tale had surgery today to remove her left eye, as well as metal fragments still lodged in her skull.
“Star had suffered soft tissue, bone, head trauma, and eye damage as a result of her wounds,” said Richard Gentles, a spokesman for the city Animal Care and Control, which handled care for the dog, Star. “She suffered a significant degree of hearing loss, but her hearing is coming back and the vision in her right eye also seems to be improving.” Another photo…
The pit bull that was shot on 14th Street has been turned over to the city after her owner failed to fetch her, and The Local has obtained the first photos of Star since she was shot while charging a police officer on Aug. 13.
Richard Gentles, a spokesperson for city Animal Care & Control, said Star’s owner failed to claim her by a deadline of 8 p.m. yesterday, at which point she was released to the agency. Once she leaves the care center in East Harlem where she’s been recovering, she’ll be turned over to the Mayor’s Alliance for New York City’s Animals, a coalition of non-profit animal shelters and rescue groups aimed at insuring that animals are adopted rather than killed in city shelters.
Mr. Gentles said his agency had arranged for what had come to $10,000 in medical treatment, most of which will be paid for by donations. He said Star was still resting and not ready for visitors, but – as with three previousstatusupdates – her condition is improving.
Video of the aftermath of the shooting. Larissa Udovik, who was nearly bitten, can be seen berating the police.
For once, the police and crusties can agree on something. The pit bull shot yesterday on 14th Street in front of dozens of horrified onlookers had it coming.
Brandon Verna, a homeless man acquainted with the owner of the dog, identified by police as Lech Stankiewicz, said that the pit bull has a reputation for being overly protective of her master.
“Most of us figured out that when he’s passed out, whether he’s overdosing or not, leave him alone,” Mr. Verna said. “If he’s going to die, call an ambulance and have them deal with it because no one wants to get bitten.” Read more…
A witness showed us a video he took of the shooting’s aftermath.
Melvin FelixOfficers loaded a dog kennel into the trunk of a
police car as friends of the
owner of the dead pitbull looked on.
A police officer shot a pitbull that was apparently trying to defend its passed-out owner on 14th Street at around 4:15 p.m., horrifying passersby who watched the wounded mutt suffer a slow death.
A man who identified himself as Steve-o, who was lingering at the scene near Second Avenue said he was a friend of the passed-out man, known as Pollock. The dog, according to Steve-o, was named Star.
Another witness, Roland Bueler, said the dog was protecting his master as a police officer tried unsuccessfully to rouse him while an ambulance awaited. “People who live in the neighborhood say he’s along here all the time,” Mr. Bueler said of Pollock. “He had a dog that was, I think, a pitbull mix. And the dog was defending the guy so no one could approach him.” Read more…
The police are now offering $32,000 for information that leads them to the man who shot a police officer in the Seward Park Houses on July 5. In the incident, Officer Brian Groves was patrolling the public houses when he came upon the suspect between the 18th and 19th floors. A brief chase ensued, and the suspect shot the officer, who narrowly escaped death thanks to his Kevlar vest.
The Police Department canvassed the 179 apartments in the Seward Park Houses on Essex Street today, a show of force in the ongoing search for the suspect in last week’s shooting of an officer on patrol. The reward for information leading to the arrest of the suspect has also been raised to $22,000, as indicated in the video above.
Here’s a sketch of the suspect in this morning’s shooting in the Lower East Side that likely would have killed a police officer were it not for his Kevlar vest. The incident happened in the stairwell between the 18th and 19th floors of the Seward Park Houses at around 3:40 a.m. While on a routine patrol, Officer Brian Groves came upon the armed suspect, who shot him in the chest after a brief pursuit, according to a statement from Commissioner Raymond Kelly. The Lo-Down reports a heavy police presence in the neighborhood.
Carl Knox, the 47-year-old who allegedly stabbed a man to death on East Fifth Street last week, turned himself in to police and is in custody, Deputy Inspector John Cappelmann announced at last night’s meeting of the Ninth Precinct Community Council.
Mr. Knox, who turned himself in on Sunday at the 44th Precinct near Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, faces a charge of murder in the second degree. Inspector Cappelmann shared a few additional details about the dispute that led to the death of 31-year-old Corey Capers. Mr. Knox, who was staying at 737 East Fifth Street in the Lower East Side II houses, got in a dispute with the goddaughter of his girlfriend over the fact that she was watching television. The argument escalated to the point that Mr. Knox began abusing his girlfriend, and the goddaughter alerted a group outside of the building. The group then chased Mr. Knox to scaffolding in the front of 709 East Fifth Street, where he allegedly stabbed Mr. Capers. Read more…
A woman was shot at the Jacob Riis Houses early this morning, the police said.
The victim was shot in the thigh shortly after midnight, according to the police. Officers taped off an area at the end of East Sixth Street and were seen examining evidence in the street as well as going in and out of Building 16 of the Riis Houses, at the northeast corner of East Sixth Street and FDR Drive.
The police could not provide the victim’s age or description but said she was taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition. Information about the shooter’s identity was not immediately available.
The incident comes a week after a man was stabbed to death on East Fifth Street and two weeks after another stabbing victim was found at East Fourth Street. In his Crime Scene column on Saturday, Mike Wilson of The Times reported that Carl Knox, the suspect in last weekend’s stabbing, was still at large as of Friday.
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance just announced the indictment of Luis Martinez, the man accused of firing at two police officers in a wild gun battle last last month that culminated in the Baruch Houses. Mr. Martinez is charged with attempted murder in the first degree and criminal possession of a weapon. During the melee an officer narrowly avoided being shot in the gut thanks to an extra ammo clip on his belt that deflected the bullet. The violence prompted Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver to renew a call for a gun buy-back program in the neighborhood. “A metal gun magazine and its leather pouch was all that stood in the way of a bullet piercing an officer’s abdomen, after he was fired upon by this defendant,” Mr. Vance said in a press release.
The police say this is the gun that Luis Martinez fired at two police officers early this morning.N.Y.P.D.
If you were wondering why those helicopters were hovering around the neighborhood early this morning here’s your answer: two police officers narrowly avoided being shot while chasing a man down Columbia Street into the Baruch Houses.
The police said that 25-year-old Luis Martinez opened fire on Officers Thomas Richards and Thomas Dunne at around 1:45 a.m. as the pair approached him on Columbia Street between Delancey and Rivington Streets. One of the shots struck Officer Richards’s spare ammunition magazine holstered to his gun belt, just missing his abdomen.
“It was a very close call for Officer Richards,” Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said in a statement. “The magazine may have well saved his life.” Read more…
Suzanne RozdebaA police car at East Fourth Street and Avenue D.
Two gunshots were fired in the Lillian Wald Houses at around 2:45 p.m., a convenience store employee told The Local.
“I didn’t see anything other than people running when they heard the shots,” said Mohamed Sidi, who works at 33 Best Deal on Avenue D. “People were scared.”
A pair of police officers were lingering at the entrance to the Lillian Wald complex at East Fourth Street at around 4 p.m., but would not comment, citing an ongoing investigation. An employee at the nearby Ave. D Candy Store, Ahmedou Ould-Dahya, also told The Local he heard a pair of gunshots.
A spokesman for the police department did yet not have any information on the possible incident.
A police helicopter circled over Alphabet City earlier this morning as officers looked for evidence of an apparent shooting. Around 12:45 a.m., police that were working in the cordoned-off courtyard of N.Y.C.H.A.’s Campos Plaza II complex at 641 East 13th Street as well as the street in front of the Pedro Albizu Campos Community Center at 611 East 13th Street – both between Avenues B and C – were unable to confirm reports of a shooting, and a N.Y.P.D. representative did not yet have details of the incident, but The Local’s Blair Hickman reported hearing “something like a firecracker sound” near Seventh Street and Avenue A. Another Twitter user, Stephanie Begg, also reported hearing a “loud firecracker noise.”
We’ll share more information as it becomes available. If you know anything about the incident, please e-mail The Local.
Update, 11:35 a.m. | The police now confirm that around 12:15 a.m. they received reports of shots fired in the courtyard of Campos Plaza II. A 19-year-old Hispanic male was shot in the leg and taken to Beth Israel hospital, where he remains in stable condition. No arrests have been made, no suspect has been identified, and the investigation is ongoing.
The long weekend was rife with shootings, and the East Village was no exception. A man and woman shot a 24-year-old man in the stomach on Saturday morning and were arrested at the Second Avenue subway station, the police said.
A NYPD spokesman told The Local that the victim was at Third Street and First Avenue at 3:45 a.m. when the duo shot him, and was taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition. The spokesman did not explain if there was a motive for the attack.
The police apprehended the two suspects — a 34-year-old man from Vinegar Hill and a 26-year-old woman from East New York — on the platform of the F train. Both were charged with assault, criminal possession of a weapon and reckless endangerment.
Watch where you step for the next couple of days. EV Grieve reports that someone in the neighborhood has lost a pet turtle. According to a flier posted on a pole at Ninth Street and Avenue C, the turtle is a red-eared Slider named Claudius. So, if you spot a random turtle crawling down the street, call 917-319-3975; it might be Claudius.
Also on Grieve: the management team at Sidewalk Bar & Restaurant says the bar aims to re-open Aug. 5 after being closed for repairs since March. The bar is known for its open mic nights; the owners proclaim Sidewalk holds the longest-running open mic night in the city. EV Grieve has snippets of an e-mail interview with the open-mic night leader Ben Krieger who said, “It looks like things are finally getting close to completion.” Mr. Krieger also wrote, “From what I know, the menu should be the same, but stripped down to about a third of the size, mainly the items that were selling. Prices should be about the same.”
And finally, East Villagers mourn the death of a long-time resident and Pratt Institute professor. The Local’s Chelsia Rose Marcius reports that Monica Shay, 58, a resident of East 10th Street, died Thursday after being shot in the head last weekend at her country home in eastern Pennsylvania. Mrs. Shay is the third person to die in the shooting; her nephew Joseph Shay and a 2-year-old boy died shortly after the shooting occurred. Two other people, including Mrs. Shay’s husband, Paul, remain in critical condition.
Monica Shay, 58, a resident of East 10th Street, died today after being shot in the head last weekend at her country home in Bechtelsville, Pa. The authorities said that Richard Geisenheyner — who was later killed in a standoff with the police — shot Mrs. Shay, her husband Paul, her nephew, Joseph Shay, Joseph Shay’s girlfriend Kathryn Erdmann, and Ms. Erdmann’s 2-year-old son Gregory; Joseph Shay and the toddler died before help arrived. Neighbors and friends held a vigil Tuesday outside Mrs. Shay’s home at 263 East 10th Street hoping for her recovery. — Chelsia Rose Marcius
Chelsia Rose MarciusNicholas Heyward, 54, of Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, a member of the October 22nd Coailition to Stop Police Brutality.
Old friends, neighbors and passersby gathered by the front stoop of 263 East 10th Street between First Avenue and Avenue A for an evening vigil at the house of Monica and Paul Shay, the East Village couple who were both shot in the head Saturday night at their country house in Bechtelsville, Pa.
“If he had the chance to talk first, he probably would have talked” — the gunman — “out of it,” said friend Paul DeRienzo, 55, of the Lower East Side, who said Mr. Shay always found a way to temper a dispute and help warring parties make peace. Read more…
The suspect in the fatal shooting of an East Village man and a 2-year-old boy in Pennsylvania Saturday was killed in a standoff with the police earlier today just outside Philadelphia. The suspect, Mark Richard Geisenheyner, 51, had been sought in the shooting of Joseph Shay, 43, of East 10th Street, and Gregory Bosco, a toddler; three other people who were victims of the shooting, including the toddler’s mother, remained in critical condition this afternoon. The Times has complete coverage of the story. —Khristopher J. Brooks
There’s a grim report this morning from a bit south of our neighborhood: a 23-year-old man was shot and killed just after 12:30 a.m. Tuesday at 85 Pitt Street on the Lower East Side; the authorities identified the victim as Jonathan Alston, of Brooklyn. The Lo-Down provided coverage of the shooting throughout the morning. The Local has reporters on the story and we will provide more details as they become available. — Chelsia Rose Marcius
The Local was a journalistic collaboration designed to reflect the richness of the East Village, report on its issues and concerns, give voice to its people and create a space for our neighbors to tell stories about themselves. It was operated by the students and faculty of the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at New York University, in collaboration with The New York Times, which provides supervision to ensure that the blog remains impartial, reporting-based, thorough and rooted in Times standards. Read more »
Suzanne Rozdeba
