A 18-year-old man was fatally shot, and three other individuals were injured by gunfire during a chaotic car meet-up in the Bronx early Sunday morning. The gathering, described as part of a social-media-fueled street showdown trend, occurred around 5:40 a.m. on East 233rd Street near Boston Road in Eastchester.
More than 60 shell casings were recovered at the scene, according to law enforcement sources. The deceased, identified as Werling Mendez, 18, of Olinville, sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the head. He was transported to BronxCare Health System, where he was pronounced dead on Monday.
Among the injured were a 22-year-old man shot in the chest and two women, aged 20 and 25, who were each shot in the foot. One of the women shot in the foot was delivering slushies for a local business at the time of the incident, according to sources. All injured victims were hospitalized in stable condition.
Authorities reported that no arrests had been made and no suspect information was available as of Monday. It remains unclear who was the intended target of the shooting.
During the incident, a 37-year-old woman was also robbed of her cell phone and a diamond chain. She was taken to Jacobi Medical Center and was reported to be in stable condition.
This event follows a similar incident in mid-April, where reckless driving at a Queens car meet-up created a dangerous situation. Footage from that event showed a motorist waving a Palestinian flag while performing stunts, narrowly missing bystanders. During that incident, two men allegedly jumped on the hood of a marked police vehicle, causing damage before fleeing. Two individuals were arrested in connection to the Queens event but were released on non-bail charges. At the time, the NYPD stated that such events would persist without significant consequences for perpetrators, emphasizing their commitment to allocating resources to stop such dangerous activities.