On the morning of July 12, 2024, 74-year-old Fermin Frito was fatally shot at the chess tables in Tompkins Square Park in the East Village. Emergency responders found him at the scene, performed CPR, and transported him to Bellevue Hospital, where he was pronounced dead later that morning. Police described the shooting as a targeted attack and identified Frito as the intended victim.

The incident occurred shortly before 10 a.m. and also wounded 44-year-old Edwin Chunky Rivera, described as Frito’s steerer; Rivera was shot in the back, fled to a nearby deli, and survived. The NYPD has said the shooting fits into a turf war between rival drug dealers, and the park area has seen violent incidents earlier in the year.

What additional details do readers have about activity around the Tompkins Square Park chess tables that morning?