Fourteen shot, two fatally, in horrifying night of violence in NYC

Fourteen people were shot — two of them fatally — throughout New York City during a bloody 15-hour span, police said Saturday.

Five people were blasted in the Bronx, five in Brooklyn, and four in Queens in eight separate incidents between 2:30 p.m. Friday and 5 a.m. Saturday. One of the victims, a 27-year-old man, was found shot in the head outside a Dominican restaurant on White Plains Road in Parkchester, according to cops.

The bloodshed began in the Bronx on Friday afternoon when a gunman sprayed bullets outside a Popeyes at East Tremont and Hughes Aves. in Tremont around 2:30 p.m., cops said.

Four people were struck by bullets, including 24-year-old Jeremiah Smith. He was fatally shot in the chest and died later at St. Barnabas Hospital.

A 37-year-old man also shot outside the Popeye’s was in critical condition at St. Barnabas on Saturday with a gunshot wound to his chest, police said. Two other men, age 58 and 36, were struck in the ankle and buttocks and were treated and released.

“The fight was outside the store. There were at least four shots, maybe more,” Popeyes worker Abdurhan Shabbir, 28, told the Daily News. “One man was lying on the ground shot and bleeding. Another guy ran into the store holding his back saying he was shot.”

Cops took Salvatore Rivera, 51, into custody at the scene, later charging him with murder, manslaughter, assault and weapons possession.

Cops later nabbed Jose Parilla, 32, who was charged on Saturday afternoon with murder, attempted murder, manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon for the shooting.

Video from the scene obtained by The News clearly showed the shooter opening fire. A second man who appeared to be armed also shows up in the video, but it’s unclear if he got off any shots.

Both Parilla and Rivera’s arraignments in Bronx Criminal Court were pending Saturday.

Less than two hours later, a gunman shot and wounded a 33-year-old man at 4:22 p.m. on Astoria Blvd. near 8th St. in Astoria, cops said. The victim suffered a gunshot wound to his leg, and went to Elmhurst Hospital on his own, police said. His injuries were not life-threatening. The suspect ran off from the scene.

No arrests have been made.

Within an hour, four more people were wounded in a drive-by shooting in Coney Island, cops said.

The victims were standing outside the High Moon Smoke Shop on Mermaid Ave. near W. 33rd St. just before 5 p.m. when someone in a passing maroon minivan began blasting away at them.

“The car stopped in front of the store and they started shooting,” said Zulqarnian Ali, who works in a deli next to the smoke shop. “The shooting was quick. Too many shots to count. One guy ran into our store, then fell on the floor. A bunch of them rushed through and into the back lot. They were running and scared.”

Panicked witnesses dragged the wounded into the two stores for cover as the minivan sped off.

The victims were between 17 and 25. Three of them had been shot in the leg while the youngest was hit in the chest, cops said. All were taken to area hospitals and expected to survive.

At least one of the four victims was the intended target, a police source with knowledge of the case said.

Rashawn Thompson, the brother of the oldest victim, whom he identified as Rahmel, said his sibling had nothing to do with the bloodshed.

“He was just hanging out with his friends,” said Thompson, 27. “He was in front of the store. They rolled up and started shooting from inside the car.”

No arrests have been made.

At about 6:25 p.m. a 20-year-old man was shot in the shoulder on 183rd St. near Jamaica Ave. in Jamaica, cops said. Medics took the victim to Jamaica Hospital, where he was in stable condition.

At 11:30 p.m., gunmen raided a small shop in Clinton Hill, where they shot a 48-year-old worker as they raided the till of $4,600.

The worker was rushed to New York Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, where he was expected to survive.

As the night dragged on, a 23-year-old man was shot in his left thigh on 33rd St. near 28th Rd. in Astoria around 2:32 a.m., cops said. Medics rushed the man to Elmhurst Hospital, where he was expected to survive.

No arrests have been made.

At 4 a.m. Saturday, a man walked into Queens Hospital Center in Hillcrest with a gunshot wound to his leg, police said.

An hour later, a 27-year-old man was shot in the head as he stood outside a vehicle on White Plains Road in Parkchester, cops said. The shots came from a passing minivan, but it wasn’t immediately clear if the victim was the intended target.

EMS rushed the man to Jacobi Hospital, where he died. His name was not immediately released as cops tracked down relatives.

No arrests have been made.

Shootings and slaying have actually been trending downwards in the city, according to NYPD stats.

As of Friday, 123 people had been shot in 99 incidents, a nearly 20% drop from the same time period last year, when 151 people were blasted.

Cops ended 2022 with an 11% drop in homicides and a 17% reduction in shootings compared with 2021, police said.