In the early morning hours of September 4, 2021, a night out in the Bronx turned fatal for 28-year-old Cory Allen. Gunfire erupted around 3:30 a.m. as Allen and another man were leaving the Garage Bar and Lounge on Tillotson and Merritt avenues in Co-Op City. The sudden violence left Allen with a fatal gunshot wound to the chest, and the 35-year-old man he was with was also wounded but survived.
Emergency medical services rushed both victims to Jacobi Medical Center, where Allen was pronounced deceased.
The investigation into the shooting led police to seek help from the public in identifying persons of interest. In March 2022, the NYPD released surveillance video of a second individual they believed had information about the incident. This followed an earlier request for assistance in identifying a woman described as being in her mid-30s with red hair, who was seen in the vicinity at the time of the shooting.
A significant development in the case came with the arrest of Melissa Bell, a 32-year-old woman from the Bronx. Bell was charged in connection with the fatal drive-by shooting that claimed Allen's life. She faces charges of murder, manslaughter, and criminal possession of a weapon for her alleged role in the death of the Mount Vernon man.
