Bronx man, 62, dies in friend’s arms, was dancing bystander killed in wave of July 4th gun violence: ‘Frenzy’ of shots and firecrackers
First he danced on the sidewalk, and then he died there.
A beloved Bronx man celebrating the Fourth of July was killed by a stray bullet to the chest while hanging outside his apartment, leaving devastated friends angry and scared. John Edwards, 62, passed away in his best friend’s arms on a Belmont sidewalk still covered a day later with bloody refuse and discarded rubber gloves from the failed effort to save his life.
“We was just right here hanging out,” said pal Cesar Lebron, 42, gesturing Tuesday toward the crime scene in the Belmont section where a party turned into a tragedy. “He was a lovely person. He was genuine and everybody loved him.”
Video shot earlier at the Fourth of July festivities caught Edwards dancing as local residents gathered outside in the last hours of the holiday. He was sitting in a favorite blue chair, still at the crime scene 12 hours later, when the bullets started flying.
Edwards became collateral damage when a gunman opened fire on two other men left wounded by the spray of bullets, with both treated at St. Barnabas Hospital — the same facility where the victim was pronounced dead, one of 11 people shot across the city on the nation’s birthday.
“I just don’t believe it,” said a weeping neighbor who was a close friend of Edwards. “He don’t fight. He don’t steal. He would help you. You’re not going to find another person like him.”
According to police, Edwards was in the wrong place at the wrong time when a drive-by shooter opened fire from a white Ford Taurus around 10:30 p.m. Monday. The gunman was apparently aiming for a 23-year-old man hit in the right leg and a 26-year-old struck in the right arm.
Both were listed in stable condition at St. Barnabas. The older wounded victim returned to the neighborhood Tuesday with his bandaged arm in a sling and described the chaotic scene.
“A frenzy,” said the man. “I couldn’t even tell the difference of shots and firecrackers. Both was going off at the same time.”
The victim said he only realized a bullet had clipped him “when my arm stopped working.”
The vehicle used in the shooting was found abandoned nearby. Police took one person into custody, although it was unclear if he was the shooter.
“This neighborhood is too much,” said Lebron. “We’re going on stressed out for two years. Gun violence is out of control in the city ... Too many young people, too many innocent people, too many stray bullets.”
Edwards was one of three people killed across the boroughs Monday as fireworks exploded above the skyline.
In East New York, three young men were shot in a deli on Loring Ave. near Drew St. about 11:35 p.m. A 21-year-old man was struck in the head and died at the scene while a 23-year-old man hit in the neck died at Brookdale University Hospital.
The third victim, 18, was hit in the upper body and listed in critical condition at at the same hospital.
One man was taken into custody but has not yet been charged. Three guns were recovered at the scene, police said and the shooting appears to be linked to a clash between rival gangs.
Earlier in the Bronx, a 35-year-old man was shot in the chest at Willis Ave. and Bruckner Blvd. in Mott Haven about 8:45 p.m. Medics took him to Lincoln Hospital in stable condition, police said.
In Harlem, a 40-year-old man was shot in the neck about 9:40 p.m. on W. 111th St. near Fifth Ave., cops said. The victim, who was in stable condition at Harlem Hospital, wasn’t cooperating with investigators, police said.
In Queens, two people were shot and wounded about 10:15 p.m., on 137th Ave. by 134th Road in Rochdale.
And at 11:50 p.m., a man was shot in the torso on Bainbridge Ave. near E. 196th St. in Fordham Manor. He was expected to recover, cops said.
