Alfredo Collazo was shot dead on February 22, 2016, at the corner of St. Mary’s Street and Crimmins Avenue in Mott Haven. He was fifty-eight days past his twentieth birthday when a hooded gunman approached from behind and fired with a .45-caliber pistol. The first bullet struck his spine and heart, and the attacker fired at least six more rounds while standing over him, leaving a total of ten entry and exit wounds; Collazo died almost instantly.

He had been with his cousin Luis Cruz after delivering gifts for Cruz’s unborn child. Cruz fled when the shots began, then returned to find Collazo on the pavement. Investigators described the killing as a targeted assassination linked to a gang-related dispute; Collazo was associated with a crew called Forrest Over Everything. Police searched for two persons of interest seen running toward the nearby Betances Houses, but no immediate arrests were made. Witness silence and a refusal to identify the shooter have hindered the inquiry, and reports say a friend of Collazo’s was later arrested with a firearm while allegedly seeking revenge.

Did anyone in the Mott Haven area see something that night or know any of the people investigators were looking for?