The city’s shelter in place order to curb the spread of novel coronavirus didn’t prevent a spate of violence across Brooklyn and Manhattan this weekend that left three people dead.
The first homicide occurred just after 8 pm on April 11 in front of 232 Buffalo Ave. in Crown Heights, near a homeless shelter run by the Department of Homeless Services.
When cops from the 77th Precinct arrived, they found 31-year-old Paul Hoilett, a resident of Atlantic Avenue in Brownsville, shot once in the head. Paramedics rushed him to Kings County Hospital, where he was pronounced dead upon arrival.
The NYPD is asking for assistance in identifying the suspect from a photo from a surveillance video.
Cops described the perpetrator as a man with a medium complexion, short hair, and a thin build, standing 5-foot-8 inches tall and weighing 170 pounds. He was last seen wearing a red hooded sweatshirt, a white t-shirt, blue jeans and white sneakers, and fleeing the scene in a white Jeep Renegade SUV.
Last summer, on Aug. 8, 2019, four people were shot in front of the same location. A memorial garden was set up nearby for one of those who died in that attack.
The second weekend shooting occurred at 8:20 pm on April 11 at the corner of East 112th Street and First Avenue in East Harlem. Officers from the 23rd Precinct responded and found three men shot, two of them with multiple gunshot wounds to various parts of the body, police officials said.
Two of the injured men, ages 41 and 40, died of their injuries at Metropolitan Hospital and Harlem Hospital, respectively. A third wounded man, age 38, is in critical condition at Metropolitan Hospital.
The deceased victims’ identities were not yet disclosed by police.
No arrests have been made at this time and the investigation is ongoing by the 23rd Precinct Detective Squad.
Another person was reported shot at approximately 11 pm Saturday at 608 East 86th St. near Farragut Road in Canarsie.
The victim, a 30-year-old man, was shot once in the abdomen and rushed to Kings County Hospital in serious condition, according to authorities. No arrests have been made, and the 69th Precinct Detective Squad is investigating the case.
The weekend’s violence came as NYPD was down 18.6 percent of their members — an improvement, however, for the department, which previously saw almost 20 percent of its officers out sick. New York City Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said Friday that more than 500 cops had returned to duty after reporting sick.
This story first appeared on amny.com.
