Detectives have released images of the gunman they say fatally shot a homeless man at a Midtown 7-Eleven earlier this month.
Police say they are on the hunt for a man wearing a black sweater, multicolored pants, gray shoes and a face mask. He also carried a backpack. Surveillance video shows the man pacing inside a subway car after he fled the scene.
This comes after the body of 43-year-old Mark Jackson was rushed out of the store and under crime scene tape on a gurney at 39th Street and 8th Avenue on the afternoon of Feb. 12. His body had been laying on the inside of the store for several hours as authorities investigated.
According to police sources, Jackson was known to hold the door at 589 8 Avenue and panhandle for money. Just before 10:30 a.m. the would-be shooter got into an argument with Jackson as he held open the door.
The slaying was witnessed by a customer.
“When I opened the door. I stepped in, I was inside for two seconds. I looked down. I heard an argument happening. I heard: p***y, p***y, p***y, and then the shooting. I just turned a run and all the other people came after me,” said the eyewitness, who asked to remain anonymous.
Police from the Midtown South Precinct and EMS rushed to the scene, where they pronounced Jackson dead. Meanwhile, the shooter made his getaway into the 50 Street subway station, fleeing on a northbound C train.
One local worker, Thomas Lane, a concierge, said the area’s quality of life had suffered in recent years before appearing to trend upward.
“I’m not surprised at all, because I’ve seen all kinds of stuff,” Lane said, adding that while things have improved in the area over the last several years, it previously was plagued by drug use and homelessness. “I would come into work in the morning, and I’d find that people had defecated all over the front door here. They would just pee on the door, in broad daylight,” Lane said.
Police are asking anyone who recognizes the gunman to come forward.
Anyone with information regarding this shooting can call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS (for Spanish, dial 888-57-PISTA). You can also submit tips online at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, or on X (formerly Twitter) @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are kept confidential.
