A 52-year-old Bensonhurst man is in stable condition after he shot himself in the head Wednesday morning as city marshals sent to evict him from his home banged on his door.
Police say that Mike Salvatore had not paid the rent on his 71st Street apartment near 20th Avenue for the last 18 months. When marshals showed up just before 9 am to get him out, he tried to take his own life.
“The Marshalls were outside when they heard a shot,” an NYPD spokesman explained. “They gained entry and found the victim with a gunshot wound to his head.”
Salvatore was rushed to Lutheran Medical Center, where he was listed in stable condition after treatment. It was unclear just how badly he had hurt himself by late Wednesday.
Neighbors said Salvatore, who was unemployed, had lived on 71st Street for more than three years.
The two sisters who owned the building were sitting in a car outside the home, making sure that the eviction order was enforced, when Salvatore shot himself.
One landlord, Roni Black, told reporters that she had taken Salvatore to court at least five times over the last year and a half as they tried to get him to either pay his rent or move out.
