A makeshift memorial to Simon Sellman at 1346 Hancock Street, where he was shot dead on May 31st. — Photo by Jonathan MenaWith the start of summer, the body count has risen to six in Bushwick so far this year; most of the killings took place in the last 30 days.
The past weekend was one of the bloodiest of the year: two murders occurred within hours of each other a few blocks apart. On Saturday, 22-year-old Aleisha Thompson was shot 12 times as she stood at a payphone on Hancock Street and Bushwick Avenue. Thompson, who lived just a block away, was taken to Woodhull Hospital where she was pronounced dead at 1:17am. According to the New York Post, Thompson was frantically calling 911 on a payphone when she was killed. Police have yet to charge anyone with the crime.
Less than an hour after Thompson’s death, 32-year-old Zacquran Horton was found on the corner of Halsey Street and Wilson Avenue with a gunshot wound to his back. Horton was pronounced dead at the scene. Kenneth Thompson, Horton’s father, told the Post that his son was jumped when he tried to flee a group of "thugs" on Eldert Street and Wilson Avenue. Detectives from the 83rd Precinct are currently investigating the case and have made no arrests.
A resident of Decatur Street near Wilson Ave. named Ben said he passed by the Halsey Street crime scene on Saturday morning. "My taxi drove by and I saw the cops and a guy laying on the floor with a bloody sheet over him," said the terrified resident.
"I don’t remember it being like this last summer," said Ben, who told BushwickBK he moved into the neighborhood last year.
Earlier this month during the Puerto Rican Day Parade a man was shot on Bushwick Avenue, according to 83rd Precinct Deputy Inspector Steven Capasso. The victim, who was shot once, identified his assailant and police quickly apprehended the suspect. A K9 team was brought to the scene to recover the weapon. "I don’t know how they do it but we love what they do," said Capasso of the police dog unit.
The shooting on Bushwick Avenue occurred two weeks after 26-year-old Simon Sellman was shot twice in front of 1346 Hancock Street on May 31st, 2010. Sellman, who had prior arrests for drugs sales, was shot in the arms at around 3am. He was taken to Kings County Hospital where he died of his injuries. "Such a young soul lost. You will never be forgotten," reads a makeshift memorial erected where Sellman was shot. Residents of 1346 Hancock refused to talk to BushwickBK but a local who lives on Irving said that the area where Sellman was shot is busy at night with people selling and buying drugs.
A 26-year-old man was killed on Halsey Street in Bed-Stuy minutes after Horton was killed. A mob was broken up by police as it reached the house of the presumed killer.
The rash of violence could be linked to the change in season, according to some emergency medical technicians that work in the area. Members of Ridgewood Volunteer Ambulance Corps (RVAC), which serves Ridgewood, Maspeth and Bushwick, told BushwickBK that they see a correlation between the rise in temperature and an increase in violent crimes in the area. A member of RVAC who asked to remain anonymous said she receives more calls for trauma-related injuries than medical emergencies during the hotter months. "A lot more stabbings, shootings, and assaults in the summer," said the EMT.
Jimmy Legs June 29th, 2010 at 8:51 am
it definitely wasn’t this bad last year, or in the last few years i’ve lived in the area. between the bad economy and the heat, people are losing it.
Professional Alternative June 29th, 2010 at 4:05 pm
I don’t know the specifics of all these cases and I don’t want to speculate, but the vast majority of the shootings and stabbings in these parts are drug and gang related. As in, the victim too is involved ins something shady.
clari July 19th, 2010 at 11:16 am
I grew up in bushwick, and things like this have always happened. You have good people, but the bad stands out like a rotten apple. I am 26 years old. I lived on Eldert btwn Evergreen and Central. I remember seeing crack bottles all over the nieghborhood, and the smell of weed was a natural occurance. Stabbings & shootings were common. So to say it wasn’t that bad last year…. bushwick has been bad. I then moved to Gates and Knickerbocker and the gangs would take over the parks and have their meetings their. Gun shoots were always heard of, and you can tell who sells drugs and who doesn’t. Many people come from outside the neighborhood to buy drugs in Bushwick. I went to a school were at 11 we were checked for contraband before starting class. It’s sad…. but that’s some of the bad things in bushwick. There is good but the rotten apples always steal the show.