Security Guard Shot on East 28th Street, Suspect At Large

A security guard for a supportive housing building was shot multiple times in the torso in Midtown on March 30, with one report pinning the shooter as a former resident.

An NYPD spokesperson at the scene told Straus News that police currently believe that the shooting was a “targeted” hit, rather than a random shooting.

The 49-year-old victim, who works at a supportive housing building run by Breaking Ground on the block, is expected to survive after being rushed to Bellevue. A day after the shooting, the suspect remains at large.

The incident took place not long after noon on East 28th Street, between Madison Avenue & Fifth Avenue. A report in the Daily News, citing police sources, said the gunman was a resident at the shelter.

“Breaking Ground is deeply saddened by the incident involving one of our security guards near The Prince George earlier today,” a spokesperson for the non-profit, which is itself housed at 505 8th Ave., near 35th Street, told Straus News.

“Our thoughts are with them and their loved ones, and the safety of our tenants, staff, and community is our top priority. We are working closely with the NYPD and cannot comment further while the investigation is ongoing,” they added.

According to a filming location schedule provided by the blog On Location Vacations, the TV series “CIA” was also scheduled for filming just up the block at East 28th Street and Fifth Avenue.

Cameras, equipment trucks and trailers were visible not far from the roped-off crime scene, although no filming was ongoing as police gathered to investigate.

Crowds had gathered in the warm spring day, not long before 1 p.m., as detectives examined and photographed a patch of sidewalk; it appeared that somebody, perhaps either the perpetrator or victim, had dropped a bag of food that lay untouched on the sidewalk.

One bystander, who lives near the crime scene, told Straus News that that he thought he could still smell lingering gunpowder residue in the air at around 1:10 p.m. “You have to be [bold] to shoot somebody in the middle of the street, near Grand Central,” he added.

Orlando, who works as a doorman at 31 E. 28th St.—which sits down the block and across Madison Ave. from the shooting scene—told Strause News that he could hear gunfire from all the way down the street.

“I heard two shots—boom, boom,” he said.

Louis, who said that he lives on the block where the shooting happened, also said that he heard the gunshots. He had heard through the grapevine that the security guard was targeted, adding that he believed “somebody had a beef with somebody.”

As for the television shoot, it appeared that nobody was visibly interacting with the equipment by around 1:30 p.m., with a rather untouched lunch spread visible near a trailer.

“CIA” premiered on CBS last month, and stars Nick Gehlfuss and Tom Ellis. It’s created by Dick Wolf, otherwise known for the “Law & Order” franchise, the famed police procedural known for its lurid NYPD crime scene investigations and Manhattan D.A. prosecutions. It’s too early to tell whether the mid-day shooting will be fodder for a future episode.