A gunfight erupted last night on the streets of Greenwich Village, a neighborhood which is one of the safest in NYC. This is the lead story in every newspaper and local television network today (click here for full story). A gunman shot a bartender in the back 15 times at De Marco's Pizzeria and Restaurant at Houston and MacDougal Streets. Two unarmed auxiliary police officers chased the fleeing gunman and were shot by the assailant on Sullivan Street. Two armed police officers appeared on the scene and killed the gunman in a shootout on Bleecker and Sullivan Street that lasted about 5 minutes. The tragic shootout left 4 dead: the bartender, the assailant and both auxiliary police. The gunman was heavily armed - the police recovered one hundred rounds of unspent ammunition and two handguns. As bad as things were, the situation could have been much worse had not the police acted so quickly and decisively - Bleecker Street is a heavily trafficked with bars and restaurants. I live in the neighborhood and happened to be outdoors when a friend told me about the incident minutes after it happened. All the city blocks in immediate proximity were closed off but I was able to get a number of photos on Bleecker Street. More photos here ...
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Gunfight
A gunfight erupted last night on the streets of Greenwich Village, a neighborhood which is one of the safest in NYC. This is the lead story in every newspaper and local television network today (click here for full story). A gunman shot a bartender in the back 15 times at De Marco's Pizzeria and Restaurant at Houston and MacDougal Streets. Two unarmed auxiliary police officers chased the fleeing gunman and were shot by the assailant on Sullivan Street. Two armed police officers appeared on the scene and killed the gunman in a shootout on Bleecker and Sullivan Street that lasted about 5 minutes. The tragic shootout left 4 dead: the bartender, the assailant and both auxiliary police. The gunman was heavily armed - the police recovered one hundred rounds of unspent ammunition and two handguns. As bad as things were, the situation could have been much worse had not the police acted so quickly and decisively - Bleecker Street is a heavily trafficked with bars and restaurants. I live in the neighborhood and happened to be outdoors when a friend told me about the incident minutes after it happened. All the city blocks in immediate proximity were closed off but I was able to get a number of photos on Bleecker Street. More photos here ...
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11 comments:
What a nightmarish tragedy!
I am so sorry, the area is one I love to frequent when I am in NY.
Always felt safe there.
It is safe - these incidents happen, I haven't seen anything like this in the decades I have lived in the neighborhood. It will be interesting to learn about the assailant and what the motive was.
Brian
You certainly described the slaying very well. Almost journalistic (meant as a compliment) and the photos are good too. The man must have been deranged at least.
Brian, a senseless tragedy which is very scary. Your photo is one that reinforces the old adage: a picture is worth a thousand words. Good narrative to describe the incident.
abraham - Thanks, and I agree - I think we will find this guy was deranged.
Kate - Thanks.
Brian
I thought we didn't know yet what the motive is?
I live here too, and all I knew last night was that I was annoyed by the helicopter noise...I didn't realize what had happened until this morning. Very sad.
I agree, this has got to be a personally motivated incident that is unlikely to be repeated. The area is the lowest crime district in the city, last I read in the papers...
Glad you are alright.
My heart goes to the two auxiliary police officers and their families.
I live in this neighborhood and eat at DeMarco's at least once a week. All the staff there are so friendly- and while I don't know them by name, like many of the people here, know them by face. To think that someone took one of their lives for absolutely no reason, makes me just sick.
Love and peace to the families of all the victims. And a special thought for all of my neighbors stunned by this tragedy.
No coment for this
great view from your side
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