Bronx Man, 46, Charged Nearly Two Years After Kingsbridge Heights Killing

A 46-year-old man has been arrested and charged with murder nearly two years after a shooting on Morris Avenue in Kingsbridge Heights left one man dead and another wounded. Jorge Caba is facing charges including murder, manslaughter, attempted murder and criminal possession of a weapon in connection with the shooting that killed 33-year-old Alan Ortiz.

According to News12 | Bronx, the shooting happened just after 1 a.m. on September 29, 2024, at 2690 Morris Avenue. Ortiz was inside a car at the time he was struck in the left arm and chest. He was taken to St. Barnabas Hospital, where he later died of injuries sustained in the shooting. A second victim, a 36-year-old man, was also shot, suffering wounds to the left arm and wrist, per the same account.

St. Barnabas Hospital, where Ortiz was taken, operates as a state-designated Level II Trauma Center with 422 acute-care beds and serves as the primary receiving hospital for severe injuries in the area, according to prior Hoodline reporting. In initial coverage of the shooting, Norwood News identified the fatally wounded victim as 33-year-old Alvin Ortiz of Newburgh, New York, a spelling variation from later reporting on the case, and noted that police released photos of a person of interest shortly after the homicide.

A Block Already Under Scrutiny

The address where the shooting took place sits on the same block as the former El Divino Niño daycare center, where a 1-year-old child died from fentanyl exposure in September 2023, Norwood News reported. The tragedy drew nationwide attention to Morris Avenue a year before Ortiz was killed just steps away.

The 2600 block of Morris Avenue falls within the jurisdiction of NYPD's 52nd Precinct, headquartered on Webster Avenue, which patrols the northern Bronx communities of Kingsbridge Heights, Fordham Manor, Bedford Park, Norwood and University Heights, according to Norwood News.

Legal Exposure for Caba

Under New York Penal Law § 125.25, a charge of murder in the second degree is classified as a Class A-I felony carrying a statutory sentence of 15 years to life in state prison upon conviction, according to FindLaw. Attempted murder in the second degree and violent felony weapons offenses are classified as Class B violent felonies under New York law, carrying mandatory state prison sentences under Penal Law § 70.02, per the New York State Senate. Neither statute allows for probation upon conviction for a violent felony.

A Precinct Under Pressure

The arrest comes amid a broader pattern of gun violence that has drawn political attention to the 52nd Precinct. During late 2024, shooting incidents in the precinct rose to six cases even as citywide crime fell overall, prompting local representatives to demand increased police staffing, according to News12 | Long Island. In a 28-day reporting period in early 2025, felony assaults in the precinct increased from 39 to 53 cases compared with the prior year, marking the largest precinct-level assault increase in the Bronx, the Bronx Times reported.

Following requests from local city council members over rising West Bronx crime, the NYPD assigned between 20 and 30 additional officers to the 52nd Precinct and adjacent commands during 2024 and 2025, according to News12 | Bronx. Community-based groups have also stepped in: non-profit programs like Bronx Rises Against Gun Violence operate across Kingsbridge Heights and Fordham, using conflict interrupters to mediate street disputes before they escalate to shootings, Hoodline has previously reported.

The case against Caba follows other recent, unresolved shootings in the surrounding corridor, including a man shot in the head outside a Jerome Avenue store and a 39-year-old man shot dead outside a Grand Avenue building, both still under investigation with no arrests announced. Caba's arrest, nearly two years after Ortiz's death, underscores how long some Bronx gun violence cases remain open before charges are filed.