Richmond Hill residents remain on edge after last weekend’s shooting spree that left a local 86-year-old man dead and three others injured.
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. hosted a community vigil at the corner of 109th Street and Jamaica Avenue in Richmond Hill on Tuesday, July 11, in recognition of Hamod Ali Saeidi, who was shot and killed in the violent shooting spree that also left three others injured.
Melvin Rodriguez, a 33-year-old Richmond Hill resident and father, who was walking with his 8-year-old daughter, opposite of the corner of 109th Street and Jamaica Avenue, said he saw video of the shooting from a friend and told QNS he is now “a little scared.” Rodriguez worries about his family’s safety and said it’s the first time in seven years living in the area that he’s heard about such a senseless shooting.
The fear that comes from the July 8 shootings was especially felt from Rakesh Banerjee and Jasvir Singh, who manage the Zoom Zoom Wireless store, on 109-02 Jamaica Ave. They both witnessed the fatal shooting as it all happened and provided police with video footage that captured the incident.
“When he fell down, I thought it was real, because before I thought someone was joking,” Banerjee said.
The moment he know it was all too real was when he saw the blood pooling on the ground, according to Banerjee.
After seeing the shooting death first hand, Banerjee and Rakesh said they decided not to open the store on Sunday, the day after the incident. Being in business for 15 years, Banerjee also pointed out the issue with unregistered motorbikes, asking the city how it plans to track these criminals.
During the vigil, Richards promised that incidents such as the shooting spree will not be normalized in Queens.
“Saturday was a day none of us would want to ever experience, but it was a day, as I said, that is all too familiar to us as Americans,” Richards said in his opening remarks. “Yet another community experienced…
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