BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — An ABC News staffer was shot and killed on Macon Street Thursday night, police and the network said, prompting fed up community leaders to call for an end to a recent spate of violence on Brooklyn streets.
Ivan Giovanettina, 41, who ABC said was a prop supervisor for "The Chew," was found with gunshot wounds to his torso in front of 269 Macon St., near Throop Avenue, about 11:30 p.m., according to the NYPD.
Paramedics took him to Kings County Hospital Center, where he was pronounced dead, police said.
"We are shocked and saddened to learn of Ivan Giovanettina's untimely death," ABC said in a statement. "He was a beloved member of our team, and we extend our deepest sympathies to his family and friends."
An immigrant from Switzerland, Giovanettina also worked on "The Tyra Banks Show" and "America's Next Top Model," according to his IMDB profile. At one time, he also ran Blu York, a now-defunct cafe on Fulton Street, according to a 2011 Patch.com profile.
The victim's roommates said he left his wallet and car keys in the living room Thursday night and may have only stepped out briefly to buy a pack of cigarettes.
Sources said at some point, Giovanettina was chased by two assailants. The suspects then shot him before fleeing, the sources added.
No arrests have been made and police said the investigation is ongoing.
Michael Ighodaro, 26, one of Giovanettina's roommates, said his friend used to shower them with kindness and gifts.
"He was the kindest person I ever met," Ighodaro, who works for Housing Works, said. "He bought me clothes and shoes."
The shooting occurred a few blocks away, a just hours after, from where a 2-year-old boy was shot and wounded shortly after leaving the hospital. The gunmen in that shooting were aiming for the boy's father but injured both when the father scooped up his son and ran, police said.
On Wednesday, a 92-year-old woman was shot by a stray bullet in East New York, police said.
A few miles away in South Slope, a 67-year-old Long Island man was pushed to the ground by masked men who stole, among other things, his wedding ring. He died a short time later, police said.
No one has been arrested in those incidents.
The rash of shootings led community activists to call for solutions to the gun violence.
"We're talking with other leaders," said community activist Tony Herbert. "We want to bring attention to this."
Giovanettina's other roommate, Alex Wilson, 26, said crime in the area was a rarity, but feared his friend's killing could be a harbinger of things to come.
"Since we've lived here we've never had violence like this," Wilson said. "It means this neighborhood isn't safe.
Herbert said stricter gun control was necessary to deter criminals from seeking weapons on the streets.
"We need to ban firearms as a whole," he added. "They need to raise mandatory minimums to deter these individuals from carrying these guns. Who's going to put the fear in these guys' hearts?
"This has to stop!" he said.
