Police said a 17-year-old male youth has been arrested following the fatal shooting of an 18-year-old male teenager on the corner of East Gun Hill Road and Putnam Place in Norwood on Wednesday evening, May 21, as reported.

 

A police spokeswoman said that at 5.53 p.m. on Wednesday in front of 266 East Gun Hill Road, officers from the 52nd Precinct responded to a 911 call regarding a male who had been shot. “Upon arrival, officers observed an unidentified individual with a gunshot wound to the left side of the head.”

She continued, “EMS transported the victim to St. Barnabas Hospital in critical condition. No arrests at this time and the investigation remains ongoing.” Onlookers said they saw one person being transported away in an ambulance but did not see what had happened.

 

Several residents we spoke to said they heard just one gunshot but didn’t witness the shooting. Many had descended from their buildings and formed a crowd at the opposite corner, taking in the scene as police cordoned off the area.

 

The shooting took place one block from the Norwood News office located beside the Keeper’s House Community Garden, run by Future of Mosholu Parkland (FOMP). Upon hearing of the shooting, the group’s executive director, Elizabeth Quaranta, later told Norwood News, “As much as this is so uncomfortable for me having an open garden literally right there, this is the reason why community gardens, even ones on private property, [are] needed. In places affected by violence, it’s a way to grow healing, connection and hope, right where it’s needed most.”

Earlier, one female resident at the scene of the shooting said, “We heard the sound [of the gunshot] and the ambulance was already here. We were in the park coming back from Family Dollar.” She said she also hadn’t seen what happened. Montefiore Medical Center is located two blocks away from the crime scene on East Gun Hill Road and Bainbridge Avenue and ambulances are frequently seen passing along East Gun Hill Road.

 

One local worker who declined to be identified later said he didn’t see what happened either but heard one shot, ran out onto the street, and saw one masked/hooded, young male person dressed in dark clothing lying on the street not moving. He said he waved down a passing ambulance to ask for help and when they removed the victim’s mask/hood, he saw that he had been shot in the side of the head.

“I saw everybody running so I see the guy was like asleep on the floor,” the worker said. Asked if he could describe him, he said, “Light skin.. he’s young.”

 

Asked if he thought the victim was deceased, the man said, “Actually, I’m not sure. I tried to stop the ambulance; I had to do something. When they take the facemask from his face, I see a big hole in his head.” Asked if the incident made him nervous, he said, “Of course. Now, I’m thinking about to put glass in my store.”

 

Later, referring to some video footage of the incident he had seen, the resident said it appeared that a dispute had arisen among three hooded/masked young people, dressed in black/dark clothing (on top), before one was then shot. He said that in the video two others are seen running away – one northbound along Putnam Place in the direction of Woodlawn Cemetery and one southbound along Putnam Place towards the Reservoir Oval. In the video, the person who runs towards Woodlawn Cemetery appears to have been wearing white sports shoes.

 

Click here to view a short video of the aftermath of the scene after police arrived.

About an hour after the shooting took place, a loud argument could be heard in the Williamsbridge Oval opposite Putnam Place between a group of people with one person seemingly complaining about “taking sides,” but the speakers were not visible and it’s unknown if the conversation was related to the earlier shooting or not.

 

Police later said that the victim was an 18-year-old male and that after being transported by EMS to St. Barnabas Hospital, he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased. They initially said there were no arrests, and the investigation remained ongoing. The deceased was identified as Estarling Peralta from the Mt. Eden section of The Bronx.

Another local employee said the three youths were seen walking from the direction of the Williamsbridge Oval / Reservoir Oval down Putnam Place towards East Gun Hill Road before the shooting took place. An NYPD crime scene unit was still at the scene at around midnight on Wednesday.

 

On Thursday, May 22, pursuant to an ongoing investigation, police said a 17-year-old unnamed male youth had been arrested the previous day. They said he was charged at 11 p.m. in the confines of the 52nd Precinct with murder in the second degree, manslaughter in the first degree, and criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree. He is deemed innocent unless and until convicted in a court of law.

 

According to the NYPD, 2,099 guns have been taken off New York City Streets since the beginning of the year, while 21,859 have been taken off the streets since the start of the Adams administration on Jan. 1, 2022.

 

In terms of shootings in the 52nd Precinct for the 28-day period ending May 18, there were none, and there were also none during the same timeframe last year. Meanwhile there were two year-to-date shootings in the 52nd Precinct as of May 18, compared to seven during the same timeframe last year (a drop of 71.4 percent). The precinct covers some or all of Bedford Park, Fordham, Kingsbridge, Norwood, Bronx Park, and University Heights.

 

Attempts to reach the family of the victim for comment on Thursday were unsuccessful.

Anyone with information regarding this incident 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 Crime Stoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/, or on X @NYPDTips.

 

All calls are strictly confidential.

Editor’s Note: In an earlier version of this story, we incorrectly reported that a resident said police had immediately arrived on the scene following the shooting but they were actually referring to EMS who had arrived almost immediately after it occurred. Also, the person who waved the ambulance down said there were three people involved in the dispute in total (including the victim) rather than four, as mentioned in an earlier version of this story.