On November 8th, in Queens, New York City, a hair salon in the Corona neighborhood on Roosevelt Ave at 103-17 was the scene of a brazen shooting incident involving armed intruders seeking revenge. Despite the chaos, a courageous hairstylist intervened, preventing any casualties.
The incident took place around 5:45 PM on November 8th, with the salon buzzing with customers. Surveillance footage showed a man at the entrance of the salon noticing someone approaching to confront him. Soon after, three hooded assailants barged into the salon. The man quickly retreated to the back as one of the hairstylists stood up to the gunman in a white hoodie. Customers and staff scrambled out of the shop or sought cover as another assailant in a black hoodie grabbed a gun and fired several shots towards the back of the salon, leaving bullet holes in the wall. Thankfully, no injuries were reported. The three assailants fled the scene and as of the morning of November 11th, they remained at large.
The hairstylist who bravely confronted the assailants was identified as 47-year-old Rafael Abreu. His heroic actions garnered praise from community leaders, including former councilman Hiram Monserrate and Ramon Ramirez-Baez, chairman of the Let’s Improve Roosevelt Ave Coalition. On the 11th, they called on Mayor Adams to recognize Abreu’s bravery and to increase police presence on Roosevelt Ave. The city’s police department had recently launched a 90-day initiative called “Restore Roosevelt Operation” to combat the rampant crime and prostitution in the area. Ramirez-Baez urged for continued police presence on Roosevelt Ave even after the 90-day operation concludes.