Masked Duo Shoots Man Outside Castle Hill Deli, Vanishes Before Dawn

A 34-year-old man was shot in the abdomen just after 4 a.m. Thursday outside a deli at the corner of Gleason and Castle Hill avenues in the Bronx, and the two masked gunmen responsible are still on the loose. Paramedics rushed the victim to Lincoln Hospital, and authorities say he is expected to recover.

According to the NYPD, the shooting happened at the intersection in the Castle Hill section of the Bronx, an area within the 43rd Precinct. As reported by News12 New York, the two suspects fled the scene immediately after opening fire and were last seen wearing all-black clothing and face masks. Police are still searching for the pair, and no arrests have been announced.

The corner where the shooting unfolded sits along Castle Hill Avenue, a busy commercial strip lined with independent delis, restaurants, and retail shops that runs through the heart of the neighborhood, according to CityNeighborhoods.NYC. The intersection sits just two blocks south of Westchester Avenue and the elevated 6 train's Castle Hill Avenue station, which links the area directly to Manhattan.

A Pattern of Masked, Fast-Moving Gunmen

This is not the first time masked assailants have struck along this stretch of the Bronx in recent months. Hoodline previously reported on a nearby shooting outside a Boys & Girls Club where suspects also fled on a scooter, and a June shooting on Castle Hill Avenue in which a teen was wounded by a pair who sped off on a motorized vehicle. Precinct detectives have repeatedly noted that offenders in the area favor face masks and quick getaways, whether on foot or on two wheels, per News12's earlier reporting on the August incident.

Hoodline also covered a daylight shooting on Randall Avenue that left a 49-year-old wounded in July, and a homicide on Haviland Avenue in May, both within the same 43rd Precinct footprint. Together, the incidents point to a corridor that keeps seeing flashes of gun violence even as broader crime trends move in the opposite direction.

Citywide Numbers Tell a Different Story

The contrast with borough-wide statistics is stark. NYPD CompStat data from mid-2026 showed the 43rd Precinct, which covers Castle Hill, Soundview, and Parkchester, recorded the largest absolute drop in major crime of any precinct in the Bronx, logging 368 fewer major crime complaints than the same period in 2025, according to Vital City. Citywide, shooting incidents were down 8.7 percent and shooting victims down 10.8 percent through July compared to 2025, per data reported by FOX 5 New York, with the Bronx leading all five boroughs in overall major crime reductions.

Lincoln Hospital, where the victim was taken, is a public municipal facility run by NYC Health + Hospitals and functions as a Level 1 Trauma Center handling more than 170,000 emergency room visits a year, making it the primary trauma center for the southern and central Bronx. Hospitals serving the precinct have also leaned on community-based efforts like Jacobi Medical Center's Stand Up to Violence program, which sends credible messengers into neighborhoods after shootings to try to head off retaliation, as the Bronx Times has reported.

Legal Exposure If Suspects Are Caught

Under New York Penal Law § 120.10, intentionally causing serious physical injury with a firearm is charged as Assault in the First Degree, a Class B violent felony punishable by up to 25 years in state prison with a mandatory minimum five-year sentence, according to the New York State Senate. Carrying a loaded, unlicensed firearm outside one's home or business, meanwhile, constitutes Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree under Penal Law § 265.03, a Class C violent felony that carries mandatory prison time regardless of a suspect's criminal history.

Anyone with information on the two suspects is urged to contact NYPD Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS. The New York City Police Foundation-funded program offers cash rewards of up to $3,500 for anonymous tips that lead to an arrest and indictment, with caller anonymity guaranteed. As of Thursday, it remains unclear whether the victim was specifically targeted or caught in a dispute, and whether detectives have recovered surveillance footage from nearby storefronts along the Castle Hill Avenue commercial strip.