A crew member was shot and killed on the set of NBC’s “Law & Order: Organized Crime” in New York City.
Johnny Pizarro, a 31-year-old dad of three, was working on the set in Greenpoint, a neighborhood in Brooklyn, according to the New York Post.
He was working on parking enforcement when he was shot multiple times in the face and neck around 5:15 a.m., the Wall Street Journal reported.
He was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The New York Police Department is still looking for the suspected shooter, and there is no known motive for the crime.
Meanwhile, Comcast Corp.’s NBCUniversal said it is working with police as the investigation into the death continues.
“We were terribly saddened and shocked to hear that one of our crew members was the victim of a crime early this morning and has died as a result. Our hearts go out to his family and friends,” NBCUniversal said, the Journal reported.
MORE ?: THE TV SHOW LAW AND ORDER: ORGANIZED CRIME WAS THE REASON FOR NO PARKING. FILMING WAS SUPPOSED TO START AT 6AM & THE INCIDENT HAPPENED AT 5AM. pic.twitter.com/Rcb2QvKdwP
— Brittany Cadet (@BrittanyCadetTV) July 19, 2022
This crime comes in the midst of surging crime rates in New York City and other major cities throughout the U.S.
Do you think that big cities will just keep getting more dangerous?
“Reports of homicide, rape, assault and robbery are on pace to break 2021 levels halfway through the year — with a 25.8 percent surge in violent crime in the Big Apple atop the list,” the New York Post reported on NYPD statistics.
In May, the overall crime index in the city increased compared to May 2021.
“Overall index crime in New York City increased by 27.8 percent in May 2022 compared with May 2021 (10,414 v. 8,149),” the NYPD reported.
Each of the seven major crime categories saw increases in May 2022 compared to May of 2021.
Grand larceny was up 42.1 percent.
Burglary increased 28.3 percent.
Robbery went up 26.2 percent.
At the beginning of the year, however, Democratic Mayor Eric Adams announced that the city had a plan to defeat crime.
“We’ve got to get it right,” Adams said in March, CNN reported. “Two months in, we’re executing our plan, and we’re going to defeat crime. I’m clear on that.”
Despite Adams’ plan, crime rates have just continued to rise in the city.
New York City‘s crime rate particularly jumped during and after the pandemic.
“Shootings in New York City have more than doubled this year compared to the same time period in 2019,” PBS News reported in May of this year.
These increases in crime have resulted in the deaths of many, which now includes this crew member from NBC.
