STATEN ISLAND — The two men killed in a defunct Staten Island loan shop were shot at close-range by somebody known to at least one of the victims, NYPD officials said Wednesday.
Investigators were questioning a man Thursday morning, but hadn't made any arrests, an NYPD spokeswoman said.
The suspect strode into the office of Universal Merchant Funding at 124 Buel Ave., near Zoe Street, about 6:14 p.m. Tuesday and shot three bullets each into Michael Genovese, 57, and Carl Clark, 52, according to police officials.
"The shooter knew one or both of these men," Robert Boyce, chief of NYPD detectives, said.
"We don't believe it was a robbery. One or two of these males was purposely targeted by the shooter."
The motive wasn't immediately clear, but investigators don't believe it's connected to organized crime.
The shooter, who witnesses said is about 6 feet tall, fled the scene and hadn't been arrested as of Wednesday morning, police said. A vehicle was seen leaving the area, but Boyce didn't provide further details on it.
A worker who had been inside the business at the time of the shooting managed to escape and flag down a passerby to call 911, officials said.
The two men were pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
Investigators are reviewing camera footage from inside the loan shop. They said cameras didn't monitor the exact space where the shooting took place.
They are also interviewing past employees of the business, which officials said hadn't paid taxes in two years, Boyce said.
"This was a local business with no cash inside, it was all funding for local businesses," Boyce said.
The loan operation was listed as inactive by the state in October 2016 because it had not filed tax returns for at least two years.
