A 25-year-old man suffering from spina bifida was shot and killed Friday night after three (3) gunmen ambushed him in a Bronx apartment building, officials and witnesses said.
The victim, identified by family members as Darin Capehart, was inside the lobby of the E. 166th Street building near Forest Avenue in the Morrisanna Section of Bronx when three men entered and started blasting away.
Riddled with bullets, Capehart stumbled outside the building, where he died.
His 26-year-old companion, was shot in the buttocks as he tried to escape the gunfire, police sources said. Paramedics rushed him to Lincoln Hospital with non life-threatening injuries.
The building is part of the Forest Houses.
Shattered family members said Capehart did not live in the building he was murdered in and did not know why he was shot.
Family members said Capehart was very close to his 20-year-old sister, who could be heard wailing from inside the apartment.
The gunmen — one of whom was wearing a red hat and a black jacket — ran off and were still being sought early Saturday.
Note: Spina bifida (Latin: “split spine”) is a developmental congenital disorder caused by the incomplete closing of the embryonic neural tube. Some vertebrae overlying the spinal cord are not fully formed and remain unfused and open. If the opening is large enough, this allows a portion of the spinal cord to protrude through the opening in the bones.
Spina bifida is one of the most common birth defects with a worldwide incidence of about 1‰ of all births (1 in every 1,000).
There have been no arrests made and the investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with information related to this 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 or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.
All tips will be kept strictly confidential.
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