Exclusive: Floral Park Neighborhood Left Stunned By Shooting Death Of 19-Year-Old College Student
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A quiet Queens neighborhood is still reeling after the shocking discovery Wednesday of a teenager who was left to die in the street.
On Thursday, CBS2's Carolyn Gusoff spoke exclusively to the woman who discovered the young man in front of her door in Floral Park.
"Whatever reason, I was there yesterday to make the call, but, again, it doesn't seem like it's enough," Liz Annese said.
Annese called 911, but wishes she could have done more. She found the young man steps from her door on Wednesday afternoon, in the street and bleeding.
"I didn't have the training, but I wish ... I really wish I could have helped him. I know he didn't survive and that makes me very sad, but I will pray for him and his family," Annese said.
The NYPD said that young man had been shot in the abdomen. He was later identified as 19-year-old Jay Patel, a Nassau Community College student who lived just around the corner.
A witness told Annese he was pushed out of a car, possibly a red Toyota Camry that was captured on surveillance video driving away on 268th Street.
"Only my camera captured the red car going by," Fouzia Uddin said. "The car was speeding by, so that's all it captured."
Neighbors, who pride themselves on the safety of this community just blocks from the Queens-Nassau County line, said they are deeply troubled by an incident that's still a mystery.
"I'm shelled shocked. I never heard anything like this before," one person said.
"You don't really hear this around here. It's just really sad," another said.
At the Patel home on Thursday, a steady flow of anguished mourners asked for privacy. Friends who did speak said they are baffled.
"[He was] very well liked, well known, never started any problems with anybody," Sunny Singh said.
For those who tried to save Patel's life, there are haunting questions.
"This young man is in the street face down. How did he get there?" Annese said.
Police would only say the investigation is ongoing.
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS.
