Three Homicides In Cypress Hills/East NY On Memorial Day Weekend

CYPRESS HILLS/EAST NY – Memorial Day weekend ended with three murders in the 75 Precinct.

First, on Friday, May 22, at around 9:45 p.m., cops found 23-year-old Noel Kennedy with a gunshot wound to the upper torso, outside on Bradford Street near New Lots Avenue. He was taken to Brookdale Hospital and was pronounced dead. Kennedy, a rising hip-hop star more commonly known as KJ Balla, lived on East New York Avenue near Powell Street.

According to an NYPD, another 26-year-old man was also shot in the drive-by shooting, cops said, but was taken to Brookdale Hospital by “private conveyance.” That man was listed in stable condition and is being treated for gunshot wounds to the abdomen, back and, arm.  As of today, no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.

On Sunday, May 24, at around 6:11 p.m., cops responded to “an assault in progress” in front of a deli on Blake Avenue near Milford Street. There, a 23-year-old man had sustained multiple stab wounds to his abdomen, back, and neck. He was taken to Brookdale Hospital where he died. His name has not yet been released. As of today, no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.

Lastly, on Monday, May 25, at around 11:06 p.m., there were some shots fired inside a grocery store on Glenmore Avenue near New Jersey Avenue. Cops found 25-year-old Edwin Candelario of Pennsylvania Avenue unconscious with gunshot wounds about the body. He was taken to Brookdale Hospital where he died. A 34-year-old man, who was a store employee, was taken into custody. According to the NYPD, a firearm was found inside the store.

AMNY spoke with Candelario’s family, who said the young man had gone to the store to pick up his keys that he had left.

“The store clerk is claiming Candelario threatened him with a knife so he shot him five times at point-blank range,” AMNY reported. “Family members of Candelario, a store stockman at Golden Farms in Manhattan, say they are suspicious that he even had a knife, and say they believe the clerk and another store employee may have altered the crime scene.”

The investigation is currently ongoing.

Anyone with information in regard to these incidents is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).  The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All calls are strictly confidential.