Two NYPD Officers are among the injured. Alleged suspect shot 21 times
By Alicia Cruz
The Black Urban Times
What began as a barbecue held in memory of a recent murder victim ended with the death of one man and the injury of five others, including two New York City police officers, The New York Daily News reported.
The early morning shooting claimed the life of 22-year-old Luis Soto after a fight erupted between Soto and another man police say killed Soto in an apparent dispute over a woman. The ruckus began around 3 a.m. Sunday near 144th Street and Lenox Avenue, according to police. When The NYPD arrived at the scene to break up the fight, shots rang out leaving Soto dead and others injured.
Police say Angel Alvarez, 23, shot and killed Soto and also shot at the responding officers. Investigators have since recovered a 38-caliber revolver from the scene of the shooting that they believe belongs to Alvarez, who will be arraigned at Harlem Hospital where he is recovering from gun shot wounds.
Family members of Alvarez vehemently dispute the NYPD's account of the shooting disputes the NYPD’s account, questioning why police fired upon him 21 times.
"I'm devastated. I'm shocked and I'm hurt," said Alvarez's sister Christine Creer.
"The police are well within their rights to fire upon someone if they're being fired upon," said Alvarez's attorney John Carney.
According to CBS News, sources say officer Michael Tedeschi, 36, a father of four, was shot in the chest and saved by his bulletproof vest. He is being treated at NewYork-Presbyterian Columbia Hospital.
A NY1 News article stated that the bullet removed from Tedeschi's vest was allegedly fired from another officer’s gun.
The second injured officer, Alfredo Vargas, 28, was released from the hospital after being treat for the bullet that grazed his hand, The Gothamist reported. Two other people were taken to area hospitals.
Police were still sorting through details and reviewing video surveillance of the melee Sunday, and an NYPD detective told the AP, "It seemed like all kinds of people shooting at each other."
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly told the Associated Press that investigators know over 40 bullets were fired by officers and at least four from Alvarez, who managed to survive being shot 21 times.
"There are other bullet casings at the scene that do not match up to Police Department ammunition. The assailant in this case used a revolver which, obviously, the rounds are not ejected from the revolver," said Kelly.
Kelly said other shell casings that did not match Alvarez's gun were also found, indicating there was at least one other civilian shooter.
Soto’s grief-stricken family wanted to know more about what happened. Initially, witnesses said that Soto was handcuffed and unarmed at the time police allegedly shot him, and while those accounts have since proven inaccurate, they have done little comfort the Soto family who are demanding answers, The Gothamist reported.
“They haven’t gave me no information, I just know what all the witnesses that I spoke to out here told me,” said Soto’s stepfather Javier. “Told me that my son got shot by police.”
The incident remains under investigation and police continue to interview witnesses.
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