Police investigate a deadly shooting in Williamsbridge, Bronx, on April 2, 2026.
Screenshot via Citizen
Two men were shot dead in the Bronx in an hour’s time on Thursday night, police reported — the latest episodes of gun violence to rock the borough this year.
The first homicide occurred in Williamsbridge just before 9:25 p.m. on April 2, when a 22-year-old man was gunned down outside a deli near the corner of Bronxwood Avenue and East 217th Street.
Officers from the 47th Precinct responded to the scene after receiving a 911 call about the incident. When they arrived, they found the victim, identified as Ricardo Bygrave, with a gunshot wound to the head.
Police said Bygrave lived on East 218th Street, just a few steps away from where he was found shot Thursday night. EMS rushed him to Jacobi Hospital in critical condition; hospital staff would later pronounce him dead.
Sources familiar with the case said the shooting may have stemmed from a dispute at the location. Cops were said to be looking for a suspect described as a male wearing a black jacket and black pants who was last seen on an e-bike northbound along Bronxwood Avenue.
So far, no arrests have been made in the ongoing investigation, police reported.
A man was shot dead at 30 Richman Plaza in Morris Heights, Bronx, on April 2, 2026.Screenshot via Citizen
Law enforcement sources said the second shooting happened at 10:20 p.m. on April 2 at the River Park Towers located at 30 Richman Plaza in Morris Heights.
Cops from the 46th Precinct rushed to the location after receiving a 911 call about an assault in progress. When they arrived, they found 21-year-old Justin Chatfield, who lived at the Richman Plaza location, shot in the torso.
EMS rushed Chatfield to St. Barnabas Hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.
Police believe Chatfield was shot following a dispute at the location. The circumstances leading up to the shooting remain unknown at this time, sources said.
During the preliminary investigation, police took a person of interest into custody for further questioning. Charges against the individual are pending the results of the ongoing investigation.
Overall crime down in the Bronx, but shootings are still higher
Chief of Department Michael J. LiPetri stands alongside Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch during an NYPD briefing on first-quarter crime statisticsPhoto by Lloyd Mitchell
The NYPD reported on Thursday that overall major crime in the Bronx (including felony assault, burglary, and robbery) is down 9.4% so far in 2026. That’s the biggest decrease in overall crime of all five boroughs this year.
And yet, even with shootings and homicides having reached historic lows citywide so far in 2026, the Bronx is bucking that downward trend, according to the NYPD.
Through March 29, precincts in the Bronx reported 21 homicides year-to-date, three more than the 18 reported at the same point last year — a 16.7% increase. The borough also saw 51 shooting incidents with 61 victims, up from 45 shooting incidents (a 13.3% uptick) and 50 victims (a 22% jump).
The 47th Precinct, where Bygrave was shot dead, had four murders reported year-to-date through March 29, double the number tallied at the same time last year. There had also been 10 shooting incidents this year with 11 victims, up from seven shootings with eight victims last year.
In the 46th Precinct, where Chatfield was killed, the command had two murders year-to-date through March 29; there were no murders at the same point in time in 2025. The precinct also reported three shooting incidents with three victims this year, up from two shootings with two victims last year.
The latest deadly shootings in the Bronx occurred hours after Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch announced that the city, as a whole, recorded the fewest murders and shooting incidents over the first three months of 2026 in its history. The city had 54 homicides in the first quarter of 2026, eclipsing the previous record low of 60 set in 2018.
Acknowledging the uptick in shootings, Tisch announced in her State of the NYPD address earlier this year that help was on the way to the Bronx. The NYPD will soon split the Patrol Borough Bronx, which oversees the borough’s 12 precincts, into two — bringing additional management, officers and other resources into the communities. The change is expected to take effect in the weeks ahead.
Previously, the NYPD also established a youth zone in the Bronx, increasing patrols near bus routes and streets leading to and from school, to keep children safe and protect them from violence. So far, Tisch said Thursday, shootings have decreased by 75% in the Bronx Youth Zone.
“We are continuing to drive crime across the city down by focusing on the people driving violence and the places where it is happening. That means putting officers in the areas carrying the heaviest burden, building cases against the people responsible, and staying with those problems until they are resolved,” Tisch said on April 2. “You can see it in the Bronx. You can see it in public housing. You can see it in the continued decline in shootings. This is what it looks like when the work is focused and carried through, and it’s what we are going to keep doing.”