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Deadly Midtown Shooting May Be Related To Drug Deal At "Zombie McDonald's"
By
Jen Chung
Published Nov 10, 2015
Modified Nov 10, 2015
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By
Jen Chung
Published Nov 10, 2015
Modified Nov 10, 2015
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Police believe that Monday's rush hour shooting near Penn Station, which left one man dead and two others injured, was over drugs. Addressing the fatal clash that started at the "zombie" McDonald's, Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said, "Right now we believe the motive is possibly narcotics. That's an active narcotics location that we've made 52 arrests so far this year in front of and inside that McDonald’s." Update: The NYPD identified a 27-year-old man they want to talk to about the shooting; more info below.
An argument that began at the fast food restaurant, located on Eighth Avenue near West 35th Street, spilled out onto the sidewalk and a shooter started firing. Angel Quinones 43; William Lamboy, 45; and Eddie Torres, 48, ran into the A/C/E subway entrance at the corner of West 35th. Quinones died in the station, while Lamboy and Torres were taken to Bellevue for their injuries.
Witness Joe Sarcone told the Daily News he saw the suspect "bust out" his gun. "I’m like, ‘What the hell? It’s too early for this.'" Sarcone said he recognized the gunman "as a drug dealer whose turf includes what the locals call the 'zombie McDonald’s' ... and another McDonald’s in Union Square."
The NY Times profiled the McDonald's over the summer: "The other day, a man headed straight for the bathroom, pausing only to open his backpack and grab a bag of heroin, known as “dog food.” Another day, a couple shared a McDonald’s vanilla shake at a side table and swallowed “sticks,” the anti-anxiety prescription drug Xanax, and “pins,” the anti-anxiety pill Klonopin. On a recent Wednesday, an ambulance showed up to carry away a regular who had been stabbed in an adjacent doorway, leaving blood all over the sidewalk."
Quinones, Lamboy and Torres were all addicts and receiving treatment at West Midtown Medical Group, across the street. Another witness, P.J. Basile, told the Times that "he recognized the three victims from the methadone clinic. He said the three were talking with another group that included a former client of the clinic and the gunman."
“He had run to the car and grabbed his weapon,” Mr. Basile said. “He clacked his gun; that’s when I was nervous and backed up.” He added that the victims “walked into an ambush.”
As the three men walked out onto the sidewalk, Chief Boyce said they were followed by the man in the sweatshirt, who had been waiting.
Edmund Pieters, a group leader at the clinic, told the Times that Quinones and Lamboy were employed: "When they first started, they looked like zombies. But now they’ve put some weight on them, and their daily routine was coffee and group meetings."
The shooting took place at the entrance of the subway station, and it appears that no surveillance cameras captured actual shooting. However, NBC New York obtained some footage of the chaos:
City Council Member Corey Johnson, who represents the neighborhood, and other elected officials sent a letter to the McDonald's franchise owner over the state of the restaurant:
November 9, 2015
Ms. Linda Dunham
Owner
McDonald’s
490 Eighth Avenue
Dear Ms. Dunham:
We are writing with respect to extremely troubling conditions at the McDonald's franchise that you own at 490 Eighth Avenue in Manhattan. As you are aware, a triple shooting occurred this morning that began with an altercation inside the restaurant. One individual was killed and two were wounded.
We believe this establishment poses an unacceptable threat to public safety. Acts of violence, as well as the open purchase, sale and consumption of drugs and alcohol have long been identified with this location. This was widely publicized in a July New York Times article about your restaurant, entitled "A Manhattan McDonald's With Many Off-the-Menu Sides".
We recognize that you have recently taken steps to improve security at your restaurant. However, these steps have proven to be insufficient. We can no longer wait for the situation to improve.
You are invited to attend a meeting to discuss this issue with our offices, representatives from the NYPD’s Midtown South Precinct, Community Board Five and other relevant parties. Please contact Erik Bottcher of Council Member Johson’s office at (212) 564-7757 to make arrangements for this meeting.
Sincerely,
Corey Johnson, Council Member
Jerrold Nadler, Member of Congress
Gale A. Brewer, Manhattan Borough President
Brad Hoylman, New York State Senator
Adriano Espaillat, New York State Senator
The police are still seeking the shooter.
Update: The police identified a person of interest in the shooting as Vincent Arcona, 27, who is 6' and 300 pounds with blue eyes, and shared images of him:
Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS. The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers Website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or texting their tips to 274637(CRIMES) then enter TIP577.
Tagged
drug addiction
fatal shooting
gun violence
penn station
zombie mcdonald's
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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