In a shocking turn of events, Brooklyn police are on the trail of a dangerous gunman who unleashed chaos on a city street Wednesday afternoon. In the incident, a woman with developmental delays narrowly escaped harm, while her family’s cherished dog wasn’t as lucky, sustaining a gunshot wound.
Law enforcement officials report that the assailant fearlessly brandished a firearm in the clear light of day, aiming at an unnamed man but missing. Instead, the stray bullet struck the woman’s dog, which fortunately later underwent surgery to remove the bullet.
The traumatizing scene involved 64-year-old Teresa Pezzolla, who was taking her regular stroll with her dog when the unexpected violence erupted. Her nephew recounted to The Post, “Aunt Teresa was casually walking the dog towards 5th Avenue.”
He added, “This is part of her usual routine, just taking the dog around the block, when suddenly this young man appeared, shooting at someone else. Unfortunately, it was the dog that got hit instead.”
The NYPD states that the alarming act of gunfire occurred around 5:46 p.m., right in front of 218 31st Street in the area of Greenwood Heights.
“So I’m thankful that the bullet didn’t hit my aunt because I think it would have been a lot worse,” continue Pezzolla’s nephew.
While the sicko’s intended target escaped unharmed, the shooter’s errant bullet slammed into a seven-year-old Honey, a labradoodle.
Pezzolla, who is developmentally delayed, walked back to the home with the animal, and her sister quickly called an cab and got the pup to an emergency vet.
“My mother called in a cab right away, got the dog to an emergency room — and the doctors there were able to pull a 22 caliber right out of the dog,” Pezzolla’s nephew explained.
When he got home, he immediately asked Pezzolla where the harrowing attack occurred.
“I walked my aunt outside, and I told her, ‘show me exactly where this happened,’ and I had the two police officers follow me from behind and, you know, she was able to point out exactly where this happened,” he said.
Nearby police officers happened upon the scene and asked what’s going on.
“I started looking around 5th Avenue and that’s when two cops rolled up on me and asked me what was going on and I told them. And that’s when the cops jumped into action.”
Authorities were able to obtain surveillance footage from nearby cameras.
“I’ve been living in the neighborhood since I was a child,” the nephew explained.
“This is the first time anything like this has ever happened, a shooting in the area.”
“My aunt is very shaken up.”
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at on X @NYPDTips.