In the early morning hours of a November night in the Bronx, a trip to the corner store turned tragic for Angel Perez, a 27-year-old Hispanic man. Shortly after 1 a.m. on November 11, 2017, Perez left his apartment, just a block away from the intersection of East 179th Street and Lafontaine Avenue. He had his two cell phones with him as he headed out into the quiet streets.
The stillness was shattered by the sound of a gunshot, a noise that prompted his girlfriend to go searching for
him. Tragically, she found him lying on the ground, unconscious and unresponsive, with a gunshot wound to his back. The location of the shooting was starkly situated near two schools, the William W. Niles School and the Providing Urban Learners Success In Education High School. When police arrived at the scene, they found Perez clinging to life. He was rushed to St. Barnabas Hospital, but his injuries were too severe, and he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.
Investigators quickly pieced together the likely motive for the senseless violence. Both of Angel Perez’s cell phones were missing, leading police to believe he was the victim of a robbery that had escalated to murder. In the aftermath of the shooting, the New York Police Department launched an investigation, searching for witnesses and any available surveillance footage that could shed light on the perpetrator or perpetrators.
Sometime after the initial investigation, authorities announced that they had identified two men as suspects in connection with the homicide. Despite this development, the case has remained unresolved for years, with no arrests having been publicly announced. The police have appealed to the public for assistance in locating these individuals, but significant breakthroughs have been elusive. The community has been left to mourn the loss of a young man in a violent street crime, while his family continues to await justice. The investigation into the death of Angel Perez remains open and active.
