Cops Probe 9 NYC Deaths Over The Weekend

NEW YORK, NY — Nine New Yorkers died in unusual circumstances this weekend even as crime trends toward historic lows, according to police reports. The NYPD is investigating five homicides, a fatal car crash and three other deaths of unknown causes — including that of a 10-day-old baby.

The spate of crimes includes four fatal shootings in a period of less than seven hours. Police have only made one arrest, in connection with the South Brooklyn car accident that killed an 89-year-old woman, the NYPD said.

Four of the deaths occurred in Brooklyn, three happened in the Bronx and one each happened in Manhattan and Queens.

Shooting In Bed-Stuy

Police found a 24-year-old man shot multiple times in his leg and groin around 10 p.m. Friday at 331 Patchen Ave. in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, the NYPD said.

Witnesses told police the man was with friends in a parking lot at the Breevort Houses apartment complex when the unknown shooter started firing at him, police said.

Paramedics took the unnamed man to Kings County Hospital, where he died due to his injuries, the NYPD said. Police are continuing to investigate.

Upper West Side Shooting

Damian Ramirez, 48, was shot multiple times in his torso at West 109th Street and Columbus Avenue around 12:38 a.m. Saturday, the NYPD said.

Ramirez, of New Milford, N.J., later succumbed to his injuries at St. Luke's Hospital, police said. The NYPD is continuing to investigate the crime.

Crown Heights Homicide

Police found John Barnes, 32, on the ground with a gunshout wound to his head around 1:40 a.m. Saturday near St. John's Place and Schenectady Avenue in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, the NYPD said.

Barnes was taken to Kings County Hospital, where he later died, police said. The investigation is ongoing.

Queens Village Shooting

Mohale Ralekhetho, 39, was shot in the neck while sitting in his 2015 Mercedes-Benz outside a house on 207th St. in Queens Village around 4:35 a.m. Saturday, police said.

Ralekhetho, who lived a block away from where he was shot, was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. A 33-year-old man was in the car with him, but was not hurt.

Police are continuing to investigate the crime.

Body Found On Gowanus Canal

An unconscious, fully clothed woman washed up on a rocky shoreline at the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn around 2 p.m. Saturday, police said.

The unidentified woman was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. The medical examiner is investigating her cause of death.

Stabbing In The Bronx

Police found 28-year-old John Sabater lying outside 635 Castle Hill Ave. in the Bronx with a stab wound in his abdomen at 7:49 p.m. Saturday, the NYPD said.

Paramedics took Sabater from the Castle Hill Houses apartment complex, where he lived, to Jacobi Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said. The investigation is ongoing.

Bronx Man Dies Of Injuries

Cops found Pedro Polanco, 27, with injuries to his lower body around 3:28 a.m. Sunday in his home on East 182nd Street in the Belmont section of the Bronx, police said.

Polanco was taken to St. Barnabas Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, the NYPD said. The medical examiner is investigating his cause of death.

Deadly Dyker Heights Crash

Helen Malinowski of Sunset Park was driving east on 81st Street in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn at 2:44 p.m. Sunday when she hit a 2013 Toyota Camry that was heading north on 11th Avenue, police said.

The Camry, driven by Marlene Romero of Sunset Park, then struck a 2012 Toyota that was parked at the intersection of the two streets, police said.

Malinowski, 89, was taken to Lutheran Medical Center in critical condition and later pronounced dead, the NYPD said. Romero, 42, was also hospitalized and charged with aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, police said.

A 79-year-old woman who was in the parked car was also treated for minor injuries, police said. The NYPD's Collision Investigation Squad is still investigating.

Baby Found Dead In The Bronx

Police found a 10-day-old infant unconscious in a crib in an apartment on East 142nd Street in the Bronx's Belmont neighborhood around 11:17 p.m. Sunday, the NYPD said.

The baby, Dash Bernard, had no obvious signs of trauma, police said. He was taken to Lincoln Hospital and later pronounced dead.

The medical examiner is examining the infant's cause of death.

(Lead image via Shutterstock)