The family of the man fatally shot during a drive-by shooting at a Bronx playground said they are searching for answers after the callous slaying.
“We don’t know what happened,” said the victim’s relative, who wished to remain anonymous. “I just don’t know what to say. No one expected this to happen.”
Miguel Cruz, 47, was sitting inside the play area on Sedgwick Ave. near Bridge Park at about 6:31 p.m. Friday when gunfire erupted, cops and witnesses said.
“He was seated at the park and someone was passing by on a scooter and he was the only one shot,” said a resident who wished to remain anonymous.
A bullet struck Cruz in the head, cops said. Medics rushed him to St. Barnabas Hospital in cardiac arrest where he later died.
“It’s just shocking something like that would happen right there at the playground, where kids and families are, it’s senseless,” the woman said.
Sam Costanza for the New York Daily News
The scene on Sedgewick Ave. in the Bronx, where a male was fatally shot on Aug. 2, 2024.
Cruz was “just visiting” the scene building, where he had previously lived, the woman said.
“He had his own life going, he worked, he was a good son to his mom and good father, he took care of his kids,” Cruz’ relative told the News.
The witness said she was sorry to hear of Cruz’s death, remembering how he always greeted her in passing.
“He was nice, he would say hi to me when he passed by. He was good people,” she said. “I was shocked. I was sad about it.”
“I just feel sorry for that man, he didn’t deserve to be killed like that,” she said.
Police were initially searching for a white Mercedes with tinted windows but investigators later believed the shooter may have been riding a scooter, police sources said.
No arrests had been made in the slaying as of Saturday evening.