In the early morning hours of Sunday, April 13, 2025, the quiet residential street of Quincy Avenue in the Throggs Neck section of the Bronx was shattered by the sound of gunfire. Just before 5 a.m., 24-year-old Jeremy Ortega was shot twice in the chest in front of his home. Responding to a 911 call, police officers from the 45th Precinct discovered Ortega with two gunshot wounds.
Emergency medical services rushed him to Jacobi Hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.
Ortega and his family, which included his parents and two sisters, had only recently moved to the neighborhood earlier in the year. The community, described by residents as one of the quietest in the Bronx, was left in shock by the violent incident. Ortega was known as a nice and hardworking man, holding a position as a supervisor at a recycling business. Co-workers remembered him as a 'smart boy.' In a tragic turn of events, it was revealed that Ortega had been the victim of a gunpoint robbery just months before his murder.
The investigation into Jeremy Ortega's death is ongoing, and as of now, no arrests have been made. Police are searching for as many as four male suspects who were seen fleeing the scene after the shots were fired. One of the suspects was reportedly wearing a black mask, a dark-colored sweatshirt, and dark gray pants. The group was seen getting into a white vehicle and driving away, heading westbound on Harding Avenue. The motive for the shooting remains unclear. This incident marked the third homicide in the 45th Precinct for the year.
