A 16-year-old boy was fatally shot outside a Bronx deli in broad daylight while he was out shopping on Wednesday. Surveillance video from outside the store shows an ice-cold gunman shooting the teen in his neck from point blank range as the teen stood in the doorway of the King Deli on Boston Road near E. 166th St. in Morrisania.
The teenager, who has been identified as James Solano, ran inside the deli for help but soon collapsed with blood all around him. Police has launched an investigation but is yet to make any arrests. Murders have been sharply on the rise in New York City, with over 400 people having died this year.
Killed Mercilessly
Solano was standing outside the deli around 12.10 pm on Wednesday when the unidentified gunman walks up to him from behind, taps on his shoulder and then suddenly pulls a gun from inside his coat and shoots him at point-blank range. The gunshot hits the teen in his neck and the gunman who was wearing a black jacket, a light hoodie and a white surgical mask, flees the scene somewhere south on Boston Road.
The spine chilling video shows Solano staggering into the deli with his hands around his neck and bleeding profusely. Moments later Solano collapsed inside the deli. Solano was immediately rushed to Lincoln Hospital in critical condition, where he died sometime later.
Pictures from the scene show the victim's blood all over the street and even on the ATM inside of the deli. Police reportedly recovered a single shell casing from the scene of the killing.
Killer at Large
Solano was just three blocks from home when he was shot. Police have launched an investigation but no arrests have been made yet. Also, no motive has been given for the murder. Although police said that they still trying to find out if the victim and suspect knew each other, the two were seen talking for a few seconds before the bullet was fired.
Solano's killing refreshes the dark memories of the gruesome murder of Lesandro 'Junior' Guzman, who was stabbed to death in another Bronx deli in June 2018. Five gang members brutally Guzman to death in a case of mistaken identity after he fled into the store. All five killers were later sentenced to life in prison.
That said, shooting and murders have been on the rise in New York City, that till some time back was considered one of the safest cities in the world. According to the police department's CompStat data, 103 people have been murdered in the Bronx through December 13, a 27.2 percent rise from 2019. Also, the annual murder rate has gone up by 38.9 percent in the past year. The last time there were this many shootings in a single year was in 2006, when the NYPD reported 1,427 shootings.
