Man shot dead on East Harlem street, sparking panic

Emma Seiwell, Graham Rayman, New York Daily News
Updated ·2 min read

A flurry of gunfire erupted Tuesday evening in East Harlem, leaving a 26-year-old man dead and locals sprinting for cover in nearby shops, police and witnesses said.

The victim was found shot once in the head at the intersection of E. 123rd St. and Lexington Ave. around 6:20 p.m., according to cops.

“I think I heard like four shots,” Sokhna, a hairdresser at Djene African Hair Braiding Center on Lenox Ave., told the Daily News.

“I heard two, then it was calm. Then we heard another back to back, another two or three. We ran to the back. I didn’t look out. I don’t wanna step out. This happens every year.”

Describing the victim, a witness who did not want to be named said, “To me, he’s a little kid.”

“He was laying on the ground right there,” the witness continued. “He was laying on his back. I seen a little bit of blood.”

Medics took the victim to Harlem Hospital, where he could not be saved.

“I feel like I don’t really know how to feel. I just feel like they need to get rid of the people standing in front of the stores,” Sokhna said. “I never seen them [dealing drugs] but I mean, that’s what it looks like.

“I was reading all my muslim prayers. Cause I’m like, what if it accidentally comes through the glass? We were scared.”

Joy, 41, the owner of Thai BKK on Lexington Ave., said the sound of gunfire is all too common.

“This always happen. This happen a lot in this neighborhood,” she said. “To us, it’s not surprising.”

NYPD Chaplain Robert Rice held hands and prayed near the blood-stained sidewalk with a woman who appeared to be grieving at the senseless loss.

“We have to come together as a community to put a stop to the senseless violence. We gotta work together with the Police Department to better our city,” he said.

“That looks like us coming together getting outside the four walls in the community and addressing this problem,” Rice added.

Crime in the 25th Precinct where the shooting took place is actually down so far this year through April 9 by 22.5%, NYPD figures show.

The homicide was the second in the precinct in 2023, compared to three through April 9 in 2022.

There had been nine shootings prior to Tuesday this year, the same as to this point in 2022, the figures show.

As the investigation continued at the scene, a man not involved in the shooting was arrested for walking under the yellow crime scene tape, police sources said.