Bronx teen shot to death on busy commercial strip, suspects still at large, police say

A Bronx teen was killed and at least one other person was wounded by gunfire on a busy street in Longwood on Tuesday afternoon, police said.

NYPD officials said the incident unfolded just before 4 p.m. at the intersection of Southern Boulevard and Westchester Avenue, a bustling commercial district near the elevated 2 and 5 subway tracks.

Shannon Kelsey, 18, was shot in the chest and taken to Lincoln Hospital, where he died, according to the department.

Officials said the other victims included a 15-year-old boy, who was transported to Harlem Hospital with a laceration to his lip, and a 38-year-old man, who went to Lincoln Hospital with a gunshot wound to his left leg. Both were reported in stable condition.

Kelsey’s family and friends gathered Wednesday outside his building at NYCHA’s Butler Houses, about a mile from where he was killed. They sat around dozens of candles spelling out his nickname, “Fatz,” which they said referred to his chubbiness as a kid.

Saiquan Mohammed told Gothamist that Kelsey was his youngest brother.

“He will be dearly missed by his loved ones and friends,” Mohammed wrote out in a reporter’s notebook. “He’ll forever be in our heart, always live on through us.”

Detectives were still investigating what led to the shooting, and the corner of Southern Boulevard and Westchester Avenue remained blocked off by police tape. The NYPD described three potential suspects who fled the scene: a man wearing gray shorts, a black shirt, black sneakers and a black backpack; a man in blue shorts, black sneakers and a white T-shirt; and a man in black shorts, black sneakers and a white T-shirt.

Fruit vendor Selcuk Segdic said he was working when the shots went off, and showed Gothamist photos of Kelsey bleeding on the ground in front of his cart, surrounded by emergency responders.

Shopkeeper David Abadi said he witnessed the altercation that preceded the shooting, describing a tense situation between the teens and a group of men who appeared to be in their 30s. He said the men sell various merchandise and marijuana on the block.

Abadi said the teens had come by on a moped several times in recent weeks to steal a backpack full of those products from the sellers.

“They were waiting for them to show up again,” he said. “They run after them up the block and then they start fighting with their hands, then they came with the knife and started stabbing.”

Abadi said one of the men fired shots at the teens. The shopkeeper added that he wished police would resume regular foot patrols in the area.

Shootings and homicides have been declining since last year in the 41st Precinct, which includes Hunts Point and Longwood, according to police data. One other fatal shooting was recorded there last month, in which a 25-year-old man was killed on Bryant Avenue near Spofford Avenue.

This story has been updated with additional information.