Who was Jayquan Lewis? 'Law & Order' extra, 21, ruthlessly shot SEVEN times at Bronx deli
BRONX, NEW YORK: In surveillance footage obtained by the media, a young man can be seen getting shot multiple times inside a Bronx deli. Identified as 'Law & Order' extra Jayquan Lewis, the man was reportedly one of the five victims amidst a crime scene that was described by an ex-cop as something out of “Carlito’s Way.”
The surveillance footage, all of 14 seconds from the afternoon of Friday, August 13, shows the ambush inside the BH Gourmet Deli on Bainbridge Avenue in Fordham Manor. The incident comes just months after an overnight shooting outside a convenience store in North Carolina that left two people dead and two others injured. The same month, a total of eight people were shot during a mass shooting in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood. Downtown Austin was also met with horror around the same time when at least 13 people were injured in a shooting.
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Who was Jayquan Lewis?
The 21-year-old Jayquan Lewis, among the other five victims, was reportedly just waiting to buy a bottle of Poland Spring Water when he was gunned down to death. In surveillance video capturing the gruesome shooting, one customer can be seen exiting the deli when the shooter emerges from the back. Clad in denim shorts, a white tank top and sneakers with a black cross-body bag, the killer walks by a man near the door before lifting his arm and opening fire on Lewis. The actor immediately falls to the ground, the disturbing footage acquired by New York Post showing his legs shaking from the attack. The actor was reportedly shot thrice in the chest, thrice in the arms, and once in his stomach.
“The assassination reminds me of the scene from ‘Carlito’s Way’ when Al Pacino’s character gets shot by Benny Blanco from the Bronx,” retired NYPD detective who said Michael Alcazar told the New York Post. According to a high-ranking insider, Lewis was murdered over social media beef which run deep into gang ties that cops are currently investigating. Alcazar's colleague and adjunct professor at John Jay College Joseph Giacalone, who's also a former NYPD sergeant told the outlet that the murder seemed “personal.” He added: "I have no doubt that (the victim) was targeted. The guy standing next to him could’ve easily been killed too, but wasn’t."
Lewis was planning to move due to growing violence
The actor's mother Marisol Sanchez denied any gang ties her late son could've had; she was, however, concerned about his safety. “I don’t want you on the street” is the last thing Sanchez had told her son before he left to buy cold drink the night he died. Lewis reportedly told her “I love you” before making his way to the deli. “I warned him because so much stuff has been going on around here. I have seen so many shootings and I’ve been seeing a lot of killings. That was one of my biggest fears, something happening to my son,” Sanchez told the outlet. She remembered her son 'JayJay' “loved acting” and wanted to study nursing. Lewis did not have any enemies, his mother insisted, telling the outlet about his appearance on the crime procedural and the 2019 film 'Joyland'.
Speaking of her son's appearance in the 2013 film 'The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete', Sanchez recalled how actor Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje had asked Lewis for his autograph, claiming: “I know you’re going to make it one day.” She also added: "He was not a troublemaker. He was not those types of kids." But if provoked, he would attack, said Sanchez, a recently retired postal worker. She also told them that they were planning to move from the Broz because of the escalating violence there. "We wanted to go an hour or maybe two hours away from here, to a more quiet area," Sanchez said.
Fordham Manor's 34-year resident Maria Ramirez revealed she felt uncomfortable living in Bainbridge. “This street is dangerous especially after Covid-19 with crazy people on the street,” she said. “I feel nervous a lot of the time, and check my surroundings when I walk.” The BH Gourmet Deli staff are scared too now. “I don’t feel comfortable like before,” one said. “But what can I do? I just work here.”