A crew member was fatally shot while working on the set for tv show ‘Law and Order: Organized Crime’.
The victim, a 31-year-old married dad of three, had just started his shift and was sitting in the driver’s seat of a vehicle that was saving a parking space on North Henry Street near Norman Avenue in Greenpoint around 5:15 a.m. when another man suddenly opened the driver’s side door and Shot him, authorities said.
“It was crazy,’’ said an upset colleague of the victim, who was saving the spot for the film crews’ trucks to later use.
“I didn’t hear an argument or nothing. It was quiet, early morning,’’ said the colleague, who asked not to be named. “It was just a pop, and the gunman ran up towards Nassau Avenue. I only heard one bang, but I don’t know how many shots. I don’t even know who would do this or why.’’
Local resident Janus Czuj, 60, said he thought the slay scene was just for the cameras. “This morning I woke up and saw the police officers,” Czuj said. “I thought it was a fake crime scene. I didn’t think it was a real tragedy. I tried to walk dogs here and saw the tape and thought, Oh, it’s a movie, but this was a real shooting.”
The motive for the crime is still being investigated, but police said they are not ruling out anything, including whether it may have stemmed from a parking dispute.
The victim, who was from Queens and whose name has not been released pending family notification, was shot multiple times in the face and neck.
He was immediately taken to Woodhull Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead just before 6 a.m. Filming had been scheduled to start on the set at 6 a.m., according to a notice at the scene.
The suspect took off from the scene by foot and is still being searched for at this time. He was last seen wearing a black hoodie and black pants.
The victim had an arrest record but had been out of trouble since around 2015. His prior busts included domestic-violence and marijuana raps, but the cases are sealed. He also was once arrested for DWI in the 75th Precinct, which includes the borough’s East New York and Cypress Hills neighborhoods.
NBC and Universal Television, which produce the TV crime series, said in a statement, “We were terribly saddened and shocked to hear that one of our crew members was the victim of a crime early this morning and has died as a result. “We are working with local law enforcement as they continue to investigate. Our hearts go out to his family and friends, and we ask that you respect their privacy during this time.”
The victim’s friends said he usually put up fliers or parking cones and parked the trucks at his job. “We’ve been doing this for five or six years,” he said. “We come 24 hours in advance to start clearing out the parking.
“We park in our trucks, and we wait for the stars to come out. The trucks have equipment for the TV shows and movie scenes.
“Sometimes we get hassled about parking, but we work with a lot of people in the communities,” the man said. “They talk with us, we talk with them. We see what time you want to leave, and depending on what time our trucks come, we let them park. There’s never too much hassle with the parking.”
Local resident Ian Oberholtzer, 35, who has lived on the block for 11 years said, “I can’t imagine it was related to parking. There’s plenty of parking spots at 5 a.m.”
The block is a popular set for shooting the show because it is close to production studios, according to Oberholtzer.
Tuesday’s filming was to be for the popular series’ third season, which features stars including Chris Meloni and Ainsley Seiger.
“They shoot a lot over here,” he said of the production crew. “The parking routine is pretty normal. I never feel threatened or endangered. I’m concerned but also pretty confused by it.”
The fatal shooting was the first homicide in the 94th Precinct for the year. It was the precinct’s third shooting to date in 2022. Both statistics match last year’s.
The dead man’s coworker said he had known the victim for seven years and he was like a brother to him. The friend said the victim left behind a wife, two daughters and a son.
“He was a great guy, always laughing or making somebody laugh, you know?” the coworker said.
Czuj said he saw the victim Monday and described him as a good-looking, happy guy. “He was speaking to his friends while they were moving cones and picking up the parking spots,” Czuj said. “He was working yesterday, and now he’s dead. It makes me sad.”
A neighbor at the victim’s Queens home also called the dead man a really great guy. “I am shocked,” the resident said.
