The NYPD have arrested a man in connection to the fatal shooting of a 29-year-old male driver, shot on the Major Deegan Expressway on Monday evening, Nov. 21. The victim later crashed into “multiple” parked vehicles on Sedgwick Avenue in Kingsbridge Heights.

 

Police said that at 4.50 p.m., officers from the 50th Precinct responded to a 911 call regarding a man who had been shot in front of 2891 Sedgwick Avenue in Kingsbridge Heights.

 

A police spokesperson said, “Preliminary investigation determined that a 29-year-old male was at 70 Major Deegan North inside of a black Toyota Camry when he was shot once in the back by an unknown individual.”

The police spokesperson added, “The victim then drove to the vicinity of 2891 Sedgwick Avenue [where] he struck multiple, parked cars and then overturned his vehicle.”

 

The driver (gunshot victim) was transported to New York Presbyterian Allen Hospital in Manhattan where he was pronounced deceased, police said. There are no arrests and the identity of the deceased is pending family notification.

 

Earlier than evening, Norwood News overheard some police radio transmission correspondence between two police units, one seemingly based on the Major Deegan Expressway, and one on Sedgwick Avenue.

At around 4:45 p.m., an NYPD dispatcher reported that a male had been shot at Sedgwick Avenue in Kingsbridge Heights.

 

A short time later, a traffic unit reported shots fired on the Major Deegan Expressway and W. 234th Street and asked if it was related to the earlier reported shooting incident at Sedgwick Avenue in Kingsbridge Heights.

 

A police official was later heard giving the address of 2891 Sedgwick Avenue and Reservoir Avenue as the location for a required ambulance to treat a shooting victim. A short time later, at Sedgwick Avenue, a police official was heard saying, “Can I get one more bus (ambulance) to this location for an aided?”

Meanwhile, a police official was heard saying, “At this time, regarding the (10-)34 on the highway, there’s no description at this time. It just states that someone was shot and left the location.”

 

The police unit, seemingly based on the highway, later confirmed that shots had been fired on the highway and that a police unit was “canvassing” the area for evidence. An official from one police unit was later heard saying they had no description of the vehicle driven by the gunman, that they had driven as far as the Yonkers border, and could not locate any suspect.

 

The police unit based at Sedgwick Avenue was later heard saying, “Patrol supervisor, meet me over by the car wreck, over here.”

Later, police were heard saying units were canvassing Bronx hospitals for a possible second victim.

 

In another police transmission, a police unit was heard, saying, “As far as the hospital canvas, there was a passenger in the backseat, a Black male with a black, baseball cap, khaki pants… possibly wearing a sweater. Unknown if he was struck, fled scene… on foot. Unknown direction of flight.”

 

A police official was also heard on the radio saying the suspect fled from the backseat [of a vehicle].

 

Separately, the FDNY reported that emergency services received a call at 4.49 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 21, from 2891 Sedgwick Avenue regarding an arrest /  shooting. A department official told Norwood News two people were transported to area hospitals, the New York Presbyterian Allen Pavilion and St. Barnabas Hospital respectively.

The deceased was later identified as Raymond Genao, 29, from the Fordham Manor section of The Bronx.

 

On Sunday, Nov. 28, the NYPD announced that pursuant to an ongoing investigation, Manuel Palma, 26, of Riverside Drive in Manhattan was arrested on Wednesday, Nov. 23, at 6.30 p.m. in the 50th Precinct. He was charged with murder, manslaughter, and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon (a loaded firearm).

 

Because of the police reference, caught on radio, to the suspect allegedly fleeing from the back seat of a car, Norwood News later asked the NYPD if they could say if the victim was a taxi driver, or if he had been shot by an assailant who had been in the backseat of his car. The NYPD responded, saying, “Unable to confirm at this time; incident remains under investigation.”

 

On Sunday afternoon, Nov. 27, less than an hour before police would make an arrest in the case, Norwood News spoke to Albert, an employee at Sedgwick Market Place, formerly C-Town supermarket, located at 2891 Sedgwick Avenue in Kingsbridge Heights, close to the scene of the car pile-up. He described how the incident unfolded, saying, “He flipped over and we pushed. We pushed to try and save his life but it was too late. They came with the ambulance, the first aid, and they couldn’t do anything for him.”

We mentioned that we didn’t see damage to the side or top of the victim’s vehicle. Albert responded, “It was strange.” He said that the vehicle was on its side when about eight bystanders began to push the car back onto its wheels. “We pushed, all of the people that were here, and we pushed because the guy was inside. I work here and I got out and I helped him because they couldn’t,” Albert said.

 

Using his hand to indicate that the car was on its side, he continued, “At first, the car was like this, on the side.” Later, pointing to the street, he said, “The car was there and a woman was there in a little car, and he [the driver] pushed… crashed.. [into other cars] and it was very bad, at the entrance to the Chinese [restaurant].”

 

Asked how many other cars the driver hit, Albert said, “Two, and the little…..a smart car.” Asked if he could confirm if the driver had been shot in the back, he said, “Yes, it was in the back. He fell down here because he lost consciousness, right here! Two cars, one here, and the little one was in the back, and he hit the two cars at the same time.”

Albert went on to say that a woman was behind the wheel of the smart car along with a child, a young girl, who was in the back seat of her car. He said the driver, who was shot, had been traveling southbound on Sedgwick Avenue. The police later confirmed that the victim lived near St. James Park, so he may have been trying to head home. Asked if the man was a taxi driver, Albert said, “Many people said he was a taxi driver. He was.”

 

The crash took place a short distance from The Marie Curie School for Medicine, Nursing, and Health Professions, located at 120 West 231st Street, where students were attending an afterschool program, according to social media posts.

 

A Bronx resident, whose name we are not disclosing to protect her identity, later confirmed she was the victim’s sister when we spoke to her by phone. Asked if her brother was a taxi driver, she replied, “No, he wasn’t a taxi driver.” Asked if she knew what had happened to him, she said, “No, I don’t know exactly what happened.” We asked if she could describe her brother. She said, “I don’t know anything about him. We didn’t live together and he had just came home.”

 

Norwood News was unable to reach anyone at the suspect’s home for comment. We were also informed by employees that police have obtained surveillance video footage from the Mobil gas station, the site of the shooting, and from a supermarket on Sedgwick Avenue near where the crash took place.

 

A person arrested and charged with a crime is deemed innocent unless and until convicted in a court of law.

Anyone with information in regard to these incidents is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/or or on Twitter @NYPDTips.

 

All calls are strictly confidential.