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Neighbors say loud fight preceded woman's death in East New York parking lot
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Published Jan 12, 2024
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Brittany Kriegstein/Gothamist
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Published Jan 12, 2024
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A woman struck and killed by a motorist in the parking lot of a Brooklyn public housing complex on Thursday night was caught in the middle of what neighbors described as a love triangle that turned deadly.
Police said they found 24-year-old Shakira Serrano about 7:30 p.m., in the parking lot of the Louis H. Pink Houses in East New York, with severe trauma to her head and body after being struck by a motor vehicle.
Officials ruled her death a homicide, but there were no immediate arrests or descriptions of the suspect.
On Friday, distraught neighbors in the building that overlooks the parking lot recounted Serrano’s last moments.
Several said they were watching from their windows as a loud fight unfolded between Serrano, who went by “Kira,” and a man.
“I believe the guy, he was leaving her house and he was getting picked up by another girl,” said neighbor Christian Molina, 20.
Molina recounted seeing Serrano follow the man to the parking lot, where another woman was waiting for him behind the wheel of a silver sedan.
Molina said the women started yelling at each other, and then things became physical.
“[Serrano] started punching the driver, then the boyfriend” intervened, Molina said.
A recording made a neighbor viewed by Gothamist showed what happened next: The man and Serrano confronted each other, and she tried to punch him, and was shoved to the ground.
Moments later, the sedan struck Serrano, dragging her several feet across the parking lot. The motorist drove over a patch of grass and left the scene as the man approached Serrano, who was lying motionless on the sidewalk.
The man grabbed Serrano, and attempted to lift her, but her body was limp and twisted.
“I saw everything,” Molina said. “I’m like yo, I could have stopped that. I could have said ‘yo, go home to your families.’ But I didn’t want to get involved with it, because I could have lost my life or something.”
Police said Serrano lived at the complex, though some neighbors thought she lived elsewhere and was just visiting.
Serrano was taken to Brookdale Hospital Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.
NYPD officials said the investigation is ongoing.
Tagged
public safety
brooklyn
nypd
HOMICIDE
Louis H. Pink Houses
Brittany Kriegstein
Brittany Kriegstein covers all breaking news around New York City, with a focus on crime and gun violence. Got a tip? Email Brittany at [email protected].
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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