A man was gunned down while sitting in his car on Hone Avenue in Morris Park on Monday, Februay 5.
He has been identified as 45-year-old George Carrasquillo, who had just moved to Morris Park, but previously lived in Hunts Point.
The shooting occurred a short distance beyond St. Clare of Assisi School property.
Captain Thomas Alps of the 49th Precinct is leading the murder investigation.
“We arrived on the scene to calls of a male possibly shot, he was pronounced dead on the scene,” said Alps. “There is no suspect in custody right now,” he added.
The gun used was a 40-caliber pistol and Carrasquillo was shot at least six times.
It appears that the shooter was waiting for the victim, whom was sitting in a grey 2017 Ford Explorer.
Carrasquillo was pronounced dead at about 5:30 a.m.
The shooting was described as ‘more of an assassination from something personal.’
Incidents like this aren’t something that the Morris Park community is used to seeing.
“This is a very peaceful community, things like this don’t happen over here,” said Al D’Angelo vice chair of Community Board 11 and president of the Morris Park Community Association. “We’ve stepped up our neighborhood patrols and reached out to the 49th about our concerns,” he added.
Captain Alps and his precinct have communicated to Morris Park and residents that this shooting is not gang related and is being viewed as an isolated incident.
Gang violence is not an issue within Morris Park according to local leadership within the community.
“We were concerned at first that this was an issue within the community and we communicated that to the police,” said Tony Vitaliano, chairman of CB11. “They assured the community that this not related to anything,” he added.
Vitaliano is confident that the NYPD will identify the shooter in a timely manner.
“We have evidence retrieved and the investigation is progressing nicely,” said the captain.
“They have great info, I know they’ll wrap this up very soon,” said Vitaliano.
Vitaliano couldn’t recount the last time a shooting like this occurred in Morris Park.
“It was very surprising, this does not happen very often,” said Vitaliano. “Residents have not expressed any concerns over their safety within the community,” he added.
The investegation is still ongoing.
