There were six homicides in New York City within a 24-hour period

Lauren Elkies:

There were six homicides in the city within a 24-hour period spanning Saturday and Sunday, including the gunning down of a member of hip-hop artist Busta Rhymes's entourage, police said.

The latest homicide occurred at 1 p.m. yesterday at a Harlem Dunkin' Donuts, police said. After waiting for service at the shop at 110 W. 145th St., the suspect announced a robbery, pulled out a gun, and shot an employee once in the back, police said. The victim, in his 20s, tried to run away, but the suspect fired two more shots at him. The suspect was unable to open the cash register and fled. He has not been apprehended. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said.

On Saturday at 8:16 p.m., a 19-year old man was walking with his girlfriend eastbound on 106th Avenue in Jamaica, Queens, when the two heard multiple gunshots, police said. The man fell to the ground, with gunshot wounds to his left leg, back, and left arm, police said. He was taken to Mary Immaculate Hospital and was pronounced dead.

At 12:26 a.m. yesterday, a man working security for Busta Rhymes, Israel Ramirez, 29, was in a stairwell outside a Williamsburg, Brooklyn, recording studio where the rapper and more than 500 people were shooting a video, police said. A fight broke out between the bodyguard and an unidentified person before three shots were fired, one striking the bodyguard in the chest, police said. The victim was taken to Woodhull Medical and Mental Health Center, where he died.

Less than six hours later, Douglas Blandon, 23, was shot three times in the chest while he was driving. He drove his car into parked vehicles in front of 675 McDonough St. in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, police said. Blandon, who was once arrested for larceny, was taken to Brookdale Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said.

At 7:30 a.m. yesterday, police discovered a man's body inside a suitcase on a Riverdale, Bronx, street, after receiving a 911 call from a passerby who noticed the bag. The victim had been repeatedly stabbed, with one deep wound under the right side of the chest.

Finally, at a little before 1 p.m., a motorist and his backseat passenger were each shot in the head in Richmond Hill, Queens, police said. The car then careened into two parked vehicles at the intersection of Myrtle Avenue and Freedom Street. A passenger in the front seat then got out of the car, tossed a flammable liquid inside, and lit the vehicle on fire, police officials said. That man then fled the scene, police said. The vehicle operator died and the backseat passenger was in critical condition at Jamaica Hospital as of last night, police said.

In another case that initially appeared to be a homicide, Wilfred Elize, 31, accidentally killed himself on his Bronx street when he set his Nissan Maxima on fire in an attempted insurance scam, police officials said. His lease on the vehicle was allegedly about to expire.

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