by JOSEPH LIGGIO, Asst. News Editor
A man was shot in the head around 12:30 a.m. this morning in an incident that ended near the intersection of West 237th Street and Broadway.
The NYPD Office of the Deputy Commissioner, Public Information stated that the incident occured near Williams Funeral Home at 5628 Broadway, across the street from an IHOP off of West 232nd Street. The victim was shot one time.
A black Honda Accord driving north from the scene came to a stop outside Ace Hardware at 5782 Broadway, across the street from a McDonald’s parking lot. It was here that the victim, reported as a 22-year old male, was pulled from the driver’s seat and rushed to Allen Hospital – NewYork-Presbyterian in critical condition.
The suspects, described as two males, fled southbound on Broadway on foot along with several women.
Police officers roped off a stretch of Broadway surrounding the IHOP between West 232nd and West 233rd streets while confirming that the scene was connected to the Honda a few blocks north. Police could be seen searching the area with flashlights.
Traffic on Broadway was closed off at several points as police vehicles arrived at both locations. One distraught witness was held at the scene near West 237th before being taken away in a police vehicle around 1:03 a.m.
Onlookers began to show up to the scene at West 237th Street within minutes, some watching from the 1 train platform directly overhead. Several said that they were informed of the shooting via the “Citizen” crime alert app on their phones.
“At this point I was already skeptical about how well policing is around here,” said Kalin Ramos, 19.
Ramos, 19, rode by the scene on his skateboard on the way to his home before returning with his mother, Meli Ramos, a few minutes later. The two have lived around the corner on West 238th for the past seven years and say that incidents like this are out of the norm.
“It doesn’t happen [around here]. It’s very rare.” said Meli. “I think it’s more intimidating because it’s right by the precinct. You feel safe, but then again, stuff like this happens, it defeats the whole purpose of you living in a safe environment.”
Manhattan College Public Safety sent out an email at 11:25 a.m. regarding the incident, while also urging students to remain vigilant.
“Be AWARE of your surroundings at all times whether on or off campus,” read part of the email.
In a later email, Public Safety also confirmed that no one affiliated with Manhattan College was involved with the incident.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 1-800-577-TIPS.
UPDATE (September 1, 2:05 p.m. EDT): As reported by many major news networks over the weekend, the man has been pronounced dead. At time of update, the suspects are still at large.