On the night of August 23, 2021, a burst of gunfire shattered the late-night quiet at the corner of East 157th Street and Melrose Avenue in the Bronx, leaving a 38-year-old man, Ryehine Cintron, with a fatal gunshot wound to his torso. The male victim was discovered unconscious and unresponsive by police officers from the 40th Precinct who were responding to a 911 call at approximately 10:31 p.m.
Emergency medical services rushed Cintron to NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln, but his life could not be saved, and he was pronounced deceased.
Initial investigations painted a grim picture of a targeted attack. According to police, Cintron was in the vicinity of the Melrose Deli Grocery when the incident occurred. A dark blue sedan, identified in some reports as a Nissan Altima, pulled up, and an occupant opened fire without exiting the vehicle. After the single, fatal shot was fired, the car sped away, disappearing into the Bronx night. The motive for the shooting was not immediately clear, but the targeted nature of the act was a key focus for detectives.
For a time, the case remained without a suspect, and the New York Police Department appealed to the public for any information that could lead to an arrest. The breakthrough in the investigation came on September 17, 2021, when police arrested 32-year-old David Hill in connection with the murder. Hill, a resident of the Bronx, was taken into custody and subsequently charged with murder, manslaughter, and criminal possession of a loaded firearm.
