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UPDATE Three Men Murdered in 4 Days of Each Other a Few Blocks Apart

POLICE ARE SEEN at the scene of a homicide at 5 East Burnside Avenue in the Mt. Hope section of The Bronx on Tuesday night, Sept. 10, 2024. 
Image courtesy of the Citizens’ App

Two murder investigations are underway after a 35-year-old man was shot dead in the Mt. Hope section of The Bronx and within 7 hours, a 32-year-old man was also shot dead in Fordham Heights. One of the fatal victims is from University Heights, the other from Morris Heights.

 

Police said that on Wednesday, Sept. 11, at around 7.33 a.m., police responded to a 911 call regarding a person who had been shot in the vicinity of East 180th Street and Creston Avenue in Fordham Heights.

POLICE ARE SEEN at the scene of a homicide at 5 East Burnside Avenue in the Mt. Hope section of The Bronx on Tuesday night, Sept. 10, 2024. 
Image courtesy of the Citizens’ App

“Upon arrival, police observed a 32-year-old male, unconscious and unresponsive, with gunshot wounds to the face and back,” an NYPD spokesperson said. “EMS responded and transported the victim to St. Barnabas Hospital in critical condition, where he succumbed to his injuries.”

 

The deceased was identified as Rafael Vasquez from Morris Heights. On Friday, Sept. 13, police said that pursuant to an ongoing investigation, Kelvin Mata, 32, of Creston Avenue, Fordham Heights, was arrested on Thursday, Sept. 12, at 11.08 a.m. in The Bronx.

They said he was charged with one count of murder, one count of first degree manslaughter: intent to cause physical injury, 169 counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree, 82 counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree
criminal sale of a controlled substance in the fifth degree and one count of criminal possession of a firearm.

 

Around six and half hours prior to this shooting, on the previous night, police said another fatal shooting had taken place a few blocks south in Mt. Hope.

POLICE ARE SEEN at the scene of a homicide on on Wednesday morning, Sept. 11, 2024 at East 180th Street and Creston Avenue in Fordham Heights on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024.  
Photo courtesy of the Ctizens’ App

They said that on Sept. 10 at around 11.04 p.m., police responded to a 911 call regarding a man who had been shot at 6 East Burnside Avenue. “Upon arrival, officers discovered a 35-year-old male who was shot once in the abdomen and once in the leg,” a police spokesperson said. “EMS responded to the location and transported the victim to St. Barnabas Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries and was later pronounced deceased.”

 

Police said there were no arrests and the investigation remains ongoing. The deceased was identified as Juan Lluverez from University Heights.

 

Norwood News has asked the NYPD is detectives are looking at any possible connection between the two murders and will share any updates we receive.

THE LOCATIONS OF two separate fatal shootings one a 6 East Burnside Avenue in the Mt. Hope section of The Bronx on Tuesday night, Sept. 10, 2024 and another at Creston Avenue and East 180th Street in Fordham Heights six and a half hours later on Wednesday morning, Sept. 11, 2024, are indicated with red markers on this map.  
Image courtesy of Google Maps

On Friday, Sept. 13, at around 9.30 p.m., police responded to a 911 call regarding a male shot at 1911 Anthony Avenue also in Mt. Hope. “Upon arrival, officers observed a 24-year-old male with multiple gunshot wounds to his back,” a police spokesperson said. “EMS responded and transported the victim to St. Barnabas Hospital where he was pronounced deceased.”

 

Police said there are no arrests, the investigation remains ongoing, and the identity of the deceased is being withheld pending family notification.

THE MAP SHOWS the distance and the time it takes to walk from the location of the second murder to the locaton of the third muder this week in the 46th Precinct in Mt. Hope within four days. 
Image courtesy of Google Maps 

Anyone with information in regarding either incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/, on X @NYPDTips.

 

All calls are strictly confidential.

 

*David Greene contributed to this story. 

 

 

Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.

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