Police are attempting to piece together the fatal shooting of a 26-year-old man shot in the abdomen in Morrisania, who was eventually found dead in the passenger seat of an SUV by police near a Crotona school building five minutes away Monday afternoon.
Police say the victim — the identity of which is pending family notification — was shot at East 163rd Street and Reverend James Polite Avenue before being driven to the Union Avenue location.
Police had arrived around 2:20 p.m. to discover the deceased in the passenger seat but without a driver or any other occupant.
When asked how detectives planned to investigate who the assailant was, police sources declined to comment.
The case is currently under investigation.
Shooting incidents are up 50% year-to-date in the Bronx’s 41st Precinct, where Monday’s incident occurred, according to NYPD data. As of Jan. 22, when the most recent information is available, there were three reported shootings in the area this year — up from two during the same time frame last year. However, there were no reported murders in that timespan.
There are at least four schools within a four-block radius of where the victims was found Monday afternoon, including Urban Scholars Community School, NYC Autism Charter School Bronx, X479 Bronx Career and College Preparatory High School and X248 The Metropolitan High School.
— Meaghan McGoldrick contributed to this report
Reach Robbie Sequeira at rsequeira@schnepsmedia.com or (718) 260-4599. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
