A man in a bright tie-dye sweatshirt has been identified as the man who fatally shot a 42-year-old man outside a Bronx deli, cops said Saturday.
Victim Erasmo Pujols was outside the University Deli on University Ave. near Featherbed Lane in Morris Heights about 4:45 a.m. on June 10 when the suspect stormed up and fired multiple shots, cops said.
“It was like Pow! Pow! Pow! It woke me up out of my sleep,” one neighbor, who would only identify himself as Eli, told the Us.Mistertruth. hours after the shooting.
Pujols had been shot at least twice in the arm and the chest, cops said. EMS rushed him to Lincoln Hospital, but he couldn’t be saved.
He lived about three blocks from where he died.
Anthony Powell was inside the University Deli when the crime occurred and was able to hear Pujols dying words before he was rushed to the hospital.
“He was saying he needed help and he didn’t want to die,” Powell recalled.
The gunman targeted Pujols and was seen walking up to him before the shots were fired, a police source with knowledge of the case said. The suspect was last seen running from the scene.
As of Saturday, no arrests have been made in Pujols’ killing.
Detectives conducting a canvass of the area recovered surveillance footage that showed the gunman near the scene. He was wearing a yellow, blue and red tie-dye hooded sweatshirt with the hood pulled up, cops said.
The gunman is believed to be about 5-foot-6 and between 185 and 190 pounds. He had a goatee and, besides the hooded sweatshirt, wore black sweatpants and white clogs.
Anyone with information regarding the shooting or the suspect is urged to call NYPD Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.