96th and Rockaway beach blvd tonight
Posted by Joseph Palagonia on Sunday, June 21, 2015
ROCKAWAY BEACH — A man shot a woman in the leg Sunday night, prompting a massive manhunt with an NYPD helicopter and hundreds of officers — in one of at least five shootings on the peninsula during the first weekend of summer, police said.
Joshua Roman, 21, allegedly fired shots in front of 214 Beach 96th St. Sunday night at 8:24 p.m. and grazed the leg of a female victim, police said.
Roman — who lives on Beach 96th Street and has multiple prior arrests, police said — fled toward the beach, prompting a police search that involved an NYPD helicopter and hundreds of officers, according to witnesses.
The NYPD would not confirm the number of officers or comment on the police response.
Video taken moments after the arrest shows Roman hauled off in handcuffs as neighbors cheered.
He was charged with criminal possession of a weapon, criminal use of a firearm, reckless endangerment and obstructing governmental administration, among other charges.
The shooting occurred in front of an office for Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder and near the former home of trendy Rockaway Taco, which is now a restaurant with a rotating list of chefs.
Goldfeder tweeted about the shooting and used it as an opportunity to demand more police officers, an effort he supports.
It was one of four shootings on the Rockaway peninsula over the weekend weekend, according to the NYPD.
An unidentified man was shot multiple times near 51-24 Beach Channel Drive on Saturday at 1:20 a.m., police said. His condition is unclear.
Later that night, at 11:45 p.m., another man was shot in the leg near 411 Beach 66th St., according to police.
Another man was shot twice in the left leg at 1:30 a.m on Sunday, June 21 in front of 81-04 Rockaway Beach Blvd., police said.
And just before midnight on Sunday, a 19-year-old man was shot in the buttocks near Beach 15th Street and the boardwalk.
He was taken to Jamaica Hospital, police said.
Shooting incidents in the 100th Precinct, which covers Breezy Point to Arverne, were up 40 percent — from four last year to seven this year — according to the most recent NYPD statistics.
In the 101st Precinct, which covers Far Rockaway to Arverne, shooting incidents remained the same since last year, at seven. But the number of victims increased 27 percent, from seven last year to nine this year, statistics show.
The numbers don't include the most recent shootings this weekend.