Elizabeth Keogh – New York Daily News https://www.nydailynews.com Breaking US news, local New York news coverage, sports, entertainment news, celebrity gossip, autos, videos and photos at nydailynews.com Thu, 16 May 2024 02:42:53 +0000 en-US hourly 30 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.3 https://www.nydailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/cropped-DailyNewsCamera-7.webp?w=32 Elizabeth Keogh – New York Daily News https://www.nydailynews.com 32 32 208786248 12-year-old girl shot, two women knifed during brawl in Queens https://www.nydailynews.com/2024/05/15/12-year-old-girl-shot-and-wounded-in-queens/ Thu, 16 May 2024 01:37:24 +0000 https://www.nydailynews.com/?p=7700739 A 12-year-old girl was shot and two women were knifed during a brawl on a Queens street on Wednesday, police and sources said.

A large fight among about 10 people broke out in front of NYCHA’s South Jamaica Houses on 160th St. near Tuskegee Airman Way in South Jamaica just before 7:45 p.m., cops and witnesses said.

An NYPD Crime Scene unit on the scene where a child was shot on Wednesday, May 25, 2024, in front of 106-22 160 street, NYCHA's South Jamaica Houses. (Sam Costanza for the New York Daily News)
An NYPD Crime Scene unit on the scene where a child was shot on Wednesday in front of NYCHA’s South Jamaica Houses. (Sam Costanza for the New York Daily News)

“They were fighting at first,” said an 82-year-old witness. “There were three shots, it stopped and then about two more. People were screaming, ‘They’re shooting! They’re shooting!’”

When the gunfire stopped, a black Hyundai with two men inside took off, police sources said.

Cops were called to the street, where they discovered the young victim suffering from a gunshot wound to the arm.

Medics rushed the girl to Long Island Jewish Medical Center in stable condition.

Later, two women ages 18 and 26 walked into Jamaica Hospital Medical Center for medical help, police said.

The older woman was stabbed in the chest and the younger one had lacerations to the head. Both were expected to survive their injuries.

The mayhem came a day after the oldest victim and her boyfriend were beat up by people who live in a neighboring building, a witness told the Daily News.

“They’re out front all day fighting and shooting craps,” the woman said of the people involved in the fight. “They’re out of control.”

There were no immediate arrests.

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7700739 2024-05-15T21:37:24+00:00 2024-05-15T22:38:42+00:00
Deadly Brooklyn hit-and-run by driver fleeing cops deemed homicide https://www.nydailynews.com/2024/05/15/deadly-brooklyn-hit-and-run-by-driver-fleeing-cops-deemed-homicide/ Thu, 16 May 2024 00:14:22 +0000 https://www.nydailynews.com/?p=7700602 The 71-year-old Brooklyn woman killed by an out-of-control driver fleeing cops last week was the victim of a homicide, police said Wednesday.

Juanita Vidal was running an errand for her 17-year-old grandson’s birthday with her 44-year-old daughter at the same time officers from the NYPD’s 83rd precinct attempted to pull over the driver of a blue Mazda CX-5 with Massachusetts plates at the corner of Eldert St. and Wilson Ave. in Bushwick around 5 p.m. May 9.

The NYPD Highway Patrol investigates after a pedestrian was fatally struck by a driver who fled the scene on Knickerbocker Avenue and Eldert Street in Bushwick, Brooklyn, New York City on Thursday, May 9, 2024. (Gardiner Anderson for New York Daily News)
The NYPD Highway Patrol investigates after a pedestrian was fatally struck by a driver who fled the scene on Knickerbocker Ave. and Eldert St. on May 9. (Gardiner Anderson for New York Daily News)

The driver instead took off northbound on Eldert St. and blew through two stop signs a block away at the intersection of Knickerbocker Ave. and Eldert St., cops said.

Video viewed by the Daily News showed the driver streaking through the intersection as police followed close behind. Just off camera, in the crosswalk, the driver slammed into Vidal and her 44-year-old daughter.

She was taken to Wyckoff Hospital but could not be saved. Her daughter, Jessica Vidal, was taken to Elmhurst Hospital Center in stable condition.

The city Medical Examiner deemed Vidal’s death a homicide, cops said Wednesday.

Police are still looking for the driver, who ditched the totaled car after the crash and fled onto an L train at the nearby Halsey St. Station.

The driver was described by cop sources as a man with a ponytail wearing gray sweatpants.

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7700602 2024-05-15T20:14:22+00:00 2024-05-15T20:19:53+00:00
Man shot on Harlem street after fight erupts on train: ‘Anybody could’ve gotten hit’ https://www.nydailynews.com/2024/05/15/man-shot-on-harlem-street-after-fight-erupts-on-train-anybody-couldve-gotten-hit/ Wed, 15 May 2024 23:36:52 +0000 https://www.nydailynews.com/?p=7700566 A man was shot and wounded on a Harlem street Wednesday following an argument on a subway train, cops and witnesses said.

The 29-year-old victim and the gunman got into a fight on an A train, which spilled out onto the corner of W. 145th St. and St. Nicholas Ave. upstairs, according to witness Rashard Flowers, who was in the same subway car.

“It was definitely four shots,” the 37-year-old told the Daily News. “He was shot in the arm and leg, his head was bleeding but he was able to get up.”

The victim ran into a Dunkin’ Donuts, where he collapsed.

“I’ve never heard gunshots so close and so loud,” said Flowers. “There are women and children out here — anybody could’ve gotten hit.”

The gunman took off on foot as cops raced to the scene just after 4:35 p.m., police said.

Medics took the victim to Harlem Hospital, where he was expected to survive.

There were no immediate arrests.

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7700566 2024-05-15T19:36:52+00:00 2024-05-15T20:19:20+00:00
Vandal smashes UES kosher restaurant window; owner believes it was antisemitic https://www.nydailynews.com/2024/05/15/vandal-smashes-ues-kosher-restaurant-window-owner-believes-it-was-antisemitic/ Wed, 15 May 2024 23:23:30 +0000 https://www.nydailynews.com/?p=7700390 A window of an Upper East Side kosher restaurant was smashed in the early hours of Wednesday, an act of vandalism the owner believes to be antisemitic.

Employees at Rothschild TLV on Lexington Ave. near E. 79th St. arrived to work Wednesday morning to discover one of the tall front windows had been shattered overnight.

The manager and owner of the spot reviewed surveillance footage, which caught a man approaching the window at around 2:10 a.m., he said.

“We saw him on the footage,” Mike Kalbo told the Daily News. “His face was covered with a scarf. It was very difficult to see. He came with a tool in his hand to break the glass. We were targeted.”

The NYPD could not immediately provide details and it has not been determined the restaurant was targeted for serving kosher eats, though the department’s Hate Crime Task force has been notified of the incident.

The vandalism echoed a recent incident on the opposite side of town.

In March, Israeli restaurant Effy’s Cafe on W. 96th St. near Columbus Ave. on the Upper West Side was vandalized with pro-Palestinian graffiti.

The metal gate covering the cafe was covered with red paint at night, while “form line here to support genocide” was spray-painted in black on the sidewalk just outside the entrance. Another sidewalk message, painted green, read “Free Gaza.”

Kalbo believes his restaurant, named after a lively boulevard in Tel Aviv, was picked out by a vandal with similar intentions.

The Rothschild TLV restaurant, where it was reported that the windows were smashed in the early morning hours on Wednesday, May 15, 2024. (Sam Costanza for the New York Daily News)
The Rothschild TLV restaurant, where it was reported that the windows were smashed in the early morning hours on Wednesday. (Sam Costanza for the New York Daily News)

“What else could it be?” the restaurateur said. “A crazy person wouldn’t come with his face covered and a tool in his hand. It’s obvious. There is no doubt.”

The incident came on the heels of scores of protests across the city, including several pro-Palestinian encampments at city universities and colleges that ended in hundreds of arrests.

On Wednesday night, a small group of pro-Palestinian students said they were “occupying” the lobby of the CUNY Graduate Center in Midtown, though they left after declaring victory and saying administrators had agreed to forward their demands to the entire student body.

Meanwhile, antisemitism has surged in the city since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, prompting a ferocious war in Gaza. Antisemitic hate crimes more than doubled that month alone.

As of April 14, there were 96 hate-fueled incidents targeting Jewish people, according to NYPD stats. The figure marked a 45% uptick compared with the same time frame last year, when cops investigated 66 antisemitic hate crimes.

The attacks against Jewish New Yorkers made up 56% of all hate-motivated crimes across the five boroughs, the stats showed.

Wednesday’s incident left Rothschild TLV manager Deana Pekanovic rattled.

“I was shocked,” she said. “It’s really horrible this happened. It’s been a while since the war started, and we’ve never had any issues here. We’ve only had support. We’ve never had any problems.”

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7700390 2024-05-15T19:23:30+00:00 2024-05-15T22:42:53+00:00
Pro-Palestinian students ‘occupy’ CUNY Graduate Center for a few hours before calling it quits https://www.nydailynews.com/2024/05/14/pro-palestinian-protesters-demonstrate-inside-cuny-graduate-center-in-manhattan/ Wed, 15 May 2024 02:23:17 +0000 https://www.nydailynews.com/?p=7687355 That was quick.

Pro-Palestinian protesters briefly occupied the lobby of the CUNY Graduate Center in Midtown Manhattan on Tuesday night, about two weeks after big NYPD crackdowns at City College of New York and other campuses.

Roughly two dozen students demonstrated for several hours inside the lobby on Fifth Ave. near E. 34th St., hanging banners and dubbing the Center’s library “The Al Aqsa University Library.”

Al Aqsa University, the oldest public university in Gaza, has been destroyed during Israel’s war on Hamas.

Pro-Palestinian protesters take over the lobby of the CUNY Graduate Center Library on 5th Avenue and 34th Street in Manhattan, New York City on Tuesday, May 14, 2024. (Gardiner Anderson for New York Daily News)
Pro-Palestinian protesters take over the lobby of the CUNY Graduate Center Library on Fifth Ave. near 34th St. in Manhattan on Tuesday. (Gardiner Anderson for New York Daily News)

About 75 protesters stood in the rain outside the Graduate Center waving Palestinian flags. Dozens of NYPD cops lined the street outside the building but did not breach the building. Meanwhile, students were seen diligently studying inside the library as the spring semester wound down.

Students involved in the demo called on administrators to negotiate a divestment from “Israeli weapons, tech and surveillance companies.”

Around 10:30 p.m., students emerged from the Graduate Center and declared victory, telling protesters on the street that after negotiations, CUNY administrators agreed to forward their demands to the entire student body.

The protesters lit a traffic flare and evacuated the library, which custodians immediately began cleaning up.

Police respond after pro-Palestinian protesters take over the lobby of the CUNY Graduate Center Library on 5th Avenue and 34th Street in Manhattan, New York City on Tuesday, May 14, 2024. (Gardiner Anderson for New York Daily News)
Police respond after pro-Palestinian protesters take over the lobby of the CUNY Graduate Center Library on Tuesday. (Gardiner Anderson for New York Daily News)

Organizers indicated they’d been motivated by campus crackdowns that made national headlines earlier this month.

“On April 30, the City College administration called the New York Police Department to dismantle the CUNY Gaza Solidarity Encampment, resulting in brutalization of protestors and almost 200 arrests,” the students said in a statement before leaving the building. “On May 13, CCNY threatened pro-Palestine students with suspension for protesting on their own campus.”

On May 1, police made 173 arrests after pro-Palestinian protesters occupied a City College administration building, vandalizing offices and shattering glass doors, before CUNY called in the NYPD to clear the encampment, officials previously said.

A CUNY Graduate Center spokeswoman did not immediately requests for comment Tuesday night.

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7687355 2024-05-14T22:23:17+00:00 2024-05-14T22:54:54+00:00
Man who randomly slugged actor Steve Buscemi in NYC identified https://www.nydailynews.com/2024/05/14/man-who-randomly-slugged-actor-steve-buscemi-in-nyc-identified/ Wed, 15 May 2024 00:11:10 +0000 https://www.nydailynews.com/?p=7687157 Cops have identified the man who randomly punched actor Steve Buscemi last week in Midtown Manhattan.

Clifton Williams, 50, is accused of socking “The Big Lebowski” star in the face as he walked on Third Ave. near E. 27th St. in Kips Bay  just before 11:50 a.m. Wednesday, police said.

Medics took Buscemi to Bellevue Hospital, where he was treated for bruising, swelling and bleeding to his left eye.

Buscemi was “OK” after the attack, according to the actor’s publicist.

Surveillance photos released by police Tuesday show the attacker, who is still being sought.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS.

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7687157 2024-05-14T20:11:10+00:00 2024-05-15T08:35:50+00:00
Two students knifed in Hell’s Kitchen high school https://www.nydailynews.com/2024/05/14/two-students-knifed-in-hells-kitchen-high-school/ Tue, 14 May 2024 20:51:01 +0000 https://www.nydailynews.com/?p=7686810 Two teens were knifed at a Midtown high school Tuesday, police said.

Cops were called to the Stephen T. Mather Building Arts & Craftsmanship High School on W. 49th St. near 10th Ave. in Hell’s Kitchen around 1:20 p.m. after the fight.

They found the boys — one slashed across the face, the other, stabbed in the chest — cops said.

Both teens were taken to area hospitals with minor injuries and were taken taken into custody by police, they added.

Charges were not immediately filed.

The school was put into a soft lockdown following the knife attack, a Department of Education spokesperson said.

A “soft” lockdown means there’s no imminent danger, according to Education Department policy. Students are trained to move out of sight and keep silent and teachers check the hallway for students, lock classroom doors and turn off the lights.

The school is non-scanning, meaning students are not required to walk through metal detectors on their way in, sources said.

“The safety and wellbeing of our students is our top priority,” said Jenna Lyle, a spokeswoman for the public schools. “Violence has absolutely no place in our schools, and this behavior is unacceptable.”

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7686810 2024-05-14T16:51:01+00:00 2024-05-14T16:54:15+00:00
Brooklyn woman critically wounded when ex in ‘jealous rage’ stabs her with icepick https://www.nydailynews.com/2024/05/14/brooklyn-woman-critically-injured-when-ex-stabs-her-in-chest-with-icepick/ Tue, 14 May 2024 20:23:39 +0000 https://www.nydailynews.com/?p=7686728 A man with a “jealous rage” broke into his ex-girlfriend’s Brooklyn apartment and repeatedly stabbed her with an ice pick, critically wounding her, officials and the victim’s grandmother said.

The 20-year-old victim was in her apartment on Louisiana Ave. near Seaview Ave. in Starrett City on Sunday when her ex, Jaquan Harvey, showed up around 5:50 p.m., prosecutors said.

Harvey, 21, allegedly flew off the handle, throwing two televisions to the floor, shattering them.

He then attacked the woman, with whom he shares a 2-year-old child, and stabbed her six times in the chest with the tool, prosecutors said.

Harvey went on to stab the victim again in the eye with another weapon, they added.

Medics rushed the wounded woman to Brookdale University Hospital in critical condition, but her condition improved and she is recovering, according to her grandmother.

“I’m grateful,” said Patricia Brown, the victim’s grandmother. “I thought I’d have to identify her body but through God’s grace and mercy he kept her.”

Cops arrested Harvey and charged him with attempted murder, among other lesser charges.

Brown said the man spiraled out of control after her granddaughter left him.

“She was tired of him,” Brown said. “You can’t keep doing what you’re doing to people and expect them to stay.”

Shortly after the break up, Brown claims Harvey began stalking her granddaughter.

“He kept threatening her,” said the 64-year-old woman. “It was a jealous rage. He wanted to return to her but she said no, it’s over.”

The victim financially supported Harvey, who didn’t work, according to Brown.

“He would sometimes watch the baby when she went to work,” she said. “I really didn’t care for him. I’m a mother with daughters and I know what it is to be womanized.”

Doctors believe Brown’s granddaughter will be able to keep her eye after the vicious stabbing.

“He should be punished for what he done,” said Brown. “She’s a very good mother and a hardworking person.”

Following an arraignment in Brooklyn Criminal Court, Harvey was held on a $100,000 cash bail or $250,000 bond, records show.

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7686728 2024-05-14T16:23:39+00:00 2024-05-15T07:24:09+00:00
‘Bling Bishop’ Lamor Whitehead should be jailed before final sentencing, prosecutors say https://www.nydailynews.com/2024/05/13/bling-bishop-lamor-whitehead-should-be-jailed-before-final-sentencing-prosecutors-say/ Mon, 13 May 2024 23:56:50 +0000 https://www.nydailynews.com/?p=7685210 Manhattan federal prosecutors have asked for convicted scam artist Lamor Whitehead — known as the “Bling Bishop” for his flamboyant lifestyle — to be jailed ahead of his July sentencing, according to new court filings.

Jurors previously found Whitehead, 45, guilty of five counts including wire fraud, attempted extortion and lying to the FBI after he stole the life savings of his parishioner’s mother and perpetrated other schemes.

In court documents filed last week, prosecutors claimed Whitehead disparaged and threatened Pauline Anderson, the woman he conned $90,000 out of, and her son on social media, accusing the family of being FBI informants and having involvement in federal crimes.

Anderson was a single mother to one of Whitehead’s parishioners at Leaders of Tomorrow International Ministries in Canarsie, Brooklyn. The “Bling Bishop” was convicted of targeting her along with a money lending company and Bronx businessman Brandon Belmonte.

Lamor Miller-Whitehead, left, aka the “Bling Bishop,” and an unidentified attorney are pictured leaving the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse in lower Manhattan Monday afternoon. (Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Daily News)

Prosecutors also charged that Whitehead violated a restraining order when he showed off several sealed documents during a live stream on Patreon, constituting contempt.

The feds argued that Whitehead’s erratic behavior poses “a danger to the safety of another person or the community, and that he is unlikely to abide by any condition or combination of conditions of release,” the documents stated.

In a letter addressed to Manhattan Federal Judge Lorna Schofield, Whitehead pleaded to remain on bail until his sentencing, noting the disclosure of the protective order was an “honest mistake.”

“It would be devastating to take me away from my two 16-year-old children, my nine-year-old daughter and my two-year-old baby girl,” he wrote. “Even though I maintain my innocence, I feel like I let my family down.”

Whitehead is due back in court next Monday, when Schofield will determine if Whitehead will spend the days leading up to his sentencing behind bars.

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7685210 2024-05-13T19:56:50+00:00 2024-05-13T22:51:01+00:00
Robber attempts to rape cell phone store worker in E. Harlem, runs off amid screams https://www.nydailynews.com/2024/05/13/robber-attempts-to-rape-cell-phone-store-worker-in-e-harlem-runs-off-amid-screams/ Mon, 13 May 2024 22:27:16 +0000 https://www.nydailynews.com/?p=7685035 A robber posing as a customer chased an employee into the back room of an East Harlem cell phone store and attempted to rape her at knifepoint — only running off after she started to scream — according to cops and a co-worker of the victim.

The 22-year-old woman was working alone at the Total by Verizon shop on Madison Ave. near E. 108th St. when a man walked in around 12 p.m. Sunday.

“He acted like a customer at first,” Riaz Fahim, a sales representative at the store, told the Daily News on Monday. “We need to be friendly with everyone. She was being friendly and suddenly the guy started to touch her.”

When the victim asked the man to “move away,” he flew off the handle, according to Fahim, 24.

“She had coffee in her hand and she was trying to throw it at him,” he said. “She couldn’t do it and the guy chased her.”

The attacker followed her into a back room where he threw her to the ground and threatened her with a knife, police said.

The attacker tried to rape her, but her screaming carried outside, according to Fahim.

“She was screaming a lot,” he said. “In this store specifically, we always open this door. This door is always open so if someone is screaming, anyone can hear it.”

The man, apparently spooked, ran off, grabbing three phones and $1,000 from the store on his way out.

The woman sought medical help after the attack, but was not seriously injured. She has lived in the city for about a year after moving from Bangladesh, Fahim said.

“As far as I know, she’s traumatized,” said Fahim. “For her, it’s been only one year she’s in the States.”

Police are still searching for the woman’s attacker, who fled east on E. 108th St. toward Park Ave. after the assault.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS.

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7685035 2024-05-13T18:27:16+00:00 2024-05-13T21:12:05+00:00