On the afternoon of March 27, 2019, 48-year-old Franklin Bello was shot multiple times while sitting in his car near West 185th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue in Washington Heights. Witnesses said a Hispanic man in his 20s wearing a black jacket and a baseball cap walked up to Bello’s vehicle, opened fire, and walked away. Bello was taken to a hospital but died of his wounds.

Investigators recovered a gun and a hat the suspect allegedly dropped while fleeing. A few days later police arrested 33-year-old Michael Velazquez and charged him with second-degree murder, criminal use of a firearm, and criminal possession of a firearm; he was arraigned in Manhattan criminal court and held without bail. The motive for the shooting has not been disclosed.

Bello had a criminal history that included a murder conviction from his youth and a later drug-related felony. Does anyone have information about what led to this shooting or witnessed activity around West 185th and St. Nicholas Avenue that day?