Aboubacar Toure, a 34-year-old mechanic from Ivory Coast who lived on St. Nicholas Avenue in Harlem, was shot and killed after confronting people trying to steal his vehicle. On the afternoon of December 29, 2022, at the auto body shop in Morrisania where he worked, a man and a woman allegedly tricked a tow truck driver into towing Mr. Toure’s car. Mr. Toure tried to stop the theft, at one point sitting on the flatbed, and shortly before 5 p.m. near East 167th Street and Park Avenue the confrontation escalated. After the tow truck left, the man pulled a gun and shot Mr. Toure in the hip; he was taken to NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln and pronounced dead.

Investigators located the stolen car in Yonkers the next day. Two days after the shooting, two people were taken into custody, including the alleged shooter identified as 21-year-old Nasalik Espinosa of the Bronx, and police said they were still seeking the woman who had been with Espinosa. Two individuals later pleaded guilty to manslaughter in connection with Mr. Toure’s death. Did anyone who knew Aboubacar or worked at that shop see the confrontation or the people involved?