A Manhattan man has been charged with murder after fatally shooting a Bronx resident last week, according to the NYPD.
Manuel Palma, 26, of the Sugar Hill neighborhood of northern Manhattan, was arrested on Nov. 23 in connection to the killing of 29-year-old Bronx resident Raymond Genao. Palma was charged with one count of murder, one count of manslaughter, and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon, a spokesperson from the NYPD confirmed.
According to the 50th Precinct police dispatch, officers responded to a 911 call of a male shot in Kingsbridge Heights at 4:50 p.m. on Nov. 21. The man, later identified as Genao, was inside of a black Toyota Camry when he was shot in the back by an unknown individual. Genao then drove down Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx, where he collided with multiple parked cars and ended up overturning his vehicle. The 29-year-old was transported to New York Presbyterian Allen Hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
The NYPD did not provide a potential motive for the crime.
Laura Spalter, the chair of Bronx Community Board 8 — which encompasses Kingsbridge Heights — told the Bronx Times on Monday that a crime of this nature is “always very scary” for people who live in the neighborhood.
“Any murder, any shooting is very upsetting to us,” Spalter said, reiterating that one of CB 8’s primary focuses is on crime.
A spokesperson at the president’s office for the Marie Curie School for Medicine, Nursing, and Health Professions — located on Sedgwick Avenue near the site officers responded to Genao — said much of the campus had heard about the shooting but that it took place after most classes had been adjourned for the day.
Employees at P.S. 360, Chaveli Daycare Corp. Group Family Day Care and Martha’s Group Family Day Care — each also located nearby — offered no comment Monday.
“Our public safety committee is quite active and concerned,” Spalter said.
However, she said homicides and other violent crimes of similar nature are pretty rare in the neighborhoods that encompass CB 8. Spalter said some of the more common crimes she sees are grand larceny, automobile theft, domestic violence and burglary.
According to data from the NYPD, the number of shooting victims and shooting incidents are down from last year.
This time last year there had been 25 reported shooting incidents in the Bronx. This year, that number was 14 — representing a 44% decrease overall. Similarly, there had been 37 shooting victims this week in 2021, but 16 this year — nearly a 57% decrease.
Spalter said CB 8 is advocating for more resources and police officers in an effort to make Bronx streets safer.
But even so, she said while last week’s shooting is of concern, it’s not necessarily indicative of a pattern in the Bronx.
“Violent crime is not something that we have much of in the 5-0,” Spalter said. “I think we’re just a microcosm of the uptick in crime citywide.”
Reach Camille Botello at cbotello@schnepsmedia.com. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
