Aboubacar Toure, a 34-year-old Black man, was a hard-working mechanic from Ivory Coast who had made his home on St. Nicholas Avenue in Harlem. He was known by those in his community as a good man who was always willing to help others.
On the afternoon of December 29, 2022, a deadly encounter unfolded at the auto body shop where Mr. Toure worked in the Morrisania section of the Bronx. According to police, a man and a woman spotted Mr. Toure's vehicle and devised a plan to steal it.
They hired a tow truck driver, telling him the car was theirs and needed to be moved. The driver, unaware he was part of a ruse, began to tow the car. Mr. Toure realized what was happening and confronted the man, at one point sitting on the flatbed of the truck to prevent his car from being taken. Just before 5 p.m., near East 167th Street and Park Avenue, the confrontation escalated. After the tow truck left, the man pulled out a gun and shot Mr. Toure in the hip. Emergency responders rushed him to NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln, but he was pronounced deceased.
The investigation quickly gained momentum. The next day, New York State troopers and Westchester Police found the stolen car in Yonkers. Two days after the shooting, two people were taken into custody, including the alleged shooter, 21-year-old Nasalik Espinosa of the Bronx. Police also announced they were searching for a woman who was with Espinosa at the time of the murder.
Espinosa was initially charged with murder and manslaughter. The case concluded when two individuals pleaded guilty to manslaughter in connection with the fatal shooting of Aboubacar Toure. He was to be buried in his native Ivory Coast.
