Bullets that left one dead, four wounded on Coney Island Boardwalk likely fired from NYCHA complex block away
A barrage of bullets that killed a man and wounded four other people on the Coney Island Boardwalk was likely fired from a NYCHA apartment complex at least a block away, police sources said Tuesday.
Shots rang out just before midnight Saturday, striking three men and two women hanging out by benches on the Riegelmann Boardwalk near W. 29th St.
Investigators believe the shots were fired at the crowd from a significant distance, likely from the Coney Island Houses, a five-building NYCHA development on Surf Ave. between W. 29th and W. 32nd Sts. The rear of the complex abuts the iconic Boardwalk.
Derrick Sanders, 42, who lives just a block away from where the shooting took place, was fatally struck in the back, cops said.
Gunfire also hit a 49-year-old woman in the right leg, a 46-year-old man in the left leg, a 34-year-old woman in the right foot and an unidentified man in the left leg.
Medics rushed all five victims to NYU Langone-Brooklyn, but Sanders could not be saved. The other victims were expected to recover.
Sanders had been out celebrating his teenage daughter’s birthday before he was killed.
“That’s what he lived for, his kids,” said his wife, who did not want to be named. “He was a devoted husband and father to all his children.
“We were together for 29 years,” she continued. “We were childhood sweethearts and he’s now gone. So it’s pretty hard to kind of wrap everything around in my head.
“He was very proud of children,” the grieving spouse added. “He’s been there to celebrate all their milestones.”
Michael Thomas, a friend of Sanders’ who worked at the building where he lived, described him as a laid-back, happy man.
“Even if he was going through something, financial or whatever, he was gonna be all right,” said Thomas. “Nothing really fazed him. I loved that the most about him. Very good person.”
Sanders was from Crown Heights but had lived in Coney Island for nearly a decade. He “always kept a job” in construction, said Thomas, 30.
“He spoke highly of them,” the friend said of Sanders’ teenage kids. “And why he worked so hard was for them. Everything he does is for his kids — words out his own mouth. All he knew was provide for his kids.”
Sanders lived alone and mostly kept to himself, preferring to stay in his apartment instead of hanging out outside, according to Thomas.
“He gave me advice,” the buddy recalled. “No matter what, walk away from a situation. It’s not worth your freedom. That was one of his main quotes.”
Thomas questioned what the “early bird” was doing on the Boardwalk so late — a local hangout the man rarely spent time at.
“That’s the first thing everyone said — ‘What is he doing over there?’ ” Thomas said. “We’re just trying to figure out what brought him over there. He’s not the type to be up late.”
Police investigating the shooting found bags of alcohol and drink mixes scattered along the benches.
Because the shots were fired from a considerable distance, it was not immediately clear if any of the victims were specifically targeted, police said. No arrests have been made in the case.
Thomas last saw Sanders the night before he died, when they smoked a cigarette together. Sanders was looking forward to his daughter’s birthday.
“I still hear his voice,” said the shocked friend. “It feels weird coming to work in the morning and not seeing my friend. It crushed me. It just doesn’t feel real to me.”
“God doesn’t like ugly,” Thomas said of the shooter. Sanders “did not deserve that.”
