Suspect in Bronx gas attendant shooting also shot Philadelphia parking officer, NYPD says

Kerry Burke, Emma Seiwell, Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News
Updated ·2 min read
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A gunman wanted for shooting and critically injuring a Bronx gas station attendant may also be responsible for shooting a Philadelphia parking enforcement officer three days later, police said Friday.

The brazen, caught-on-camera shooting in Philadelphia took place just before 4:00 p.m. on Nov. 25, on Frankford Avenue near Orthodox St. in that city’s Frankford neighborhood, said police.

The gunman — clad in the same blue hoodie, ski mask and gray pants he wore during the Nov. 22 Bronx shooting — walked up to a uniformed, on-duty Philadelphia Parking Authority officer, pulled out a silver revolver, and shot the officer at point-blank range from behind, video shows.

The Philadelphia officer was struck in the left ear and shoulder, police said.

The suspect fled on foot, and the 37-year-old officer was rushed to Temple University hospital where he was in critical condition, cops said.

The Bronx gas station attendant, identified as borough resident Zulfiqar Alvi, 59, remained in critical condition Friday with a bullet still lodged in his head, cops said.

“If he recovers he’ll never be the same,” the victim’s nephew, Malik Saud, 21 said.

Alvi underwent one surgery but remains in a coma.

He worked at the same Sunoco gas station for 15 years, and was the sole breadwinner for his wife and seven children who live in Pakistan.

“We don’t know what they’re going to do,” Saud said of the family, who Alvi had not seen since 2007.

“He’s not a man to fight. He was quiet. He just worked and that’s it,” Saud said, adding that the suspect targeted Alvi but he had “no idea why.”

An anonymous tipster called the NYPD’s tip line on Nov. 30 telling them the Philadelphia shooter also shot Alvi, cops said.

Police further determined the possible connection based on the man’s similar characteristics, identical outfit and the similar manner of the shootings both captured on video. Philadelphia police issued a video comparing the two incidents.

Police have warned New York City traffic agents to take extra precautions while on duty.

The city of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Parking Authority have each offered $10,000 for information that leads to an arrest. Anyone with information regarding either shooting is asked to call NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477)