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Gunman Kills Brooklyn Deli Worker, Stray Bullets Strike School Bus And MTA Bus


By

Jake Offenhartz

Published Nov 19, 2019


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A photo of the shooting location

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By

Jake Offenhartz

Published Nov 19, 2019


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A shooting in Brooklyn on Tuesday morning left one man dead, amid a barrage of bullets that struck a school bus full of children and a packed MTA bus.

The shooting occurred just before 9:00 a.m. at Pennsylvania and Dumont Avenues in East New York, police said. The 32-year-old victim, who reportedly worked at a nearby deli, was hit multiple times in the abdomen, according to an NYPD spokesperson. He was identified by the Daily News as Francisco Bonilla.

At least two stray bullets also struck the side of a school bus and pierced the doors of a B20 bus carrying dozens of people. None of the passengers aboard either bus were hit. A spokesperson for the Department of Education confirmed that the students' families were contacted about the incident.

Witnesses said that the victim was a generous man and father of a young child, who lived just a few steps from the site of the shooting.

“I saw him two days ago," Bonilla's cousin told the News. "It’s crazy. Unbelievable. He never got into bullshit, no fighting, no gang-banging. None of that shit.”

Another witness told NY1 that he was "the kind of kid that would give you his shirt off his back if he had to that's the type of individual he was, not an individual that was involved in anything."

The gunman fled following the shooting and has not been located. An investigation remains ongoing.


Jake Offenhartz

Jake Offenhartz is a former Gothamist reporter.

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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations


Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations


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