Two men were shot and killed Wednesday night in separate incidents in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen and Chelsea neighborhoods, marking the first homicides of the year in two areas that had so far seen little violent crime in 2025, police said.
The first shooting occurred around 9:20 p.m. outside the NYCHA Fulton Houses on West 17th Street between Ninth and 10th Avenues. Officers responding to a 911 call found 21-year-old Raqiese Cohen unconscious with a gunshot wound to the neck. Cohen, a resident of the complex, was rushed to Bellevue Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to the NYPD. No arrests have been made, and investigators said they have not yet identified a suspect.
Roughly 90 minutes later and just a few miles uptown, a second shooting claimed the life of 30-year-old Marco Reyes of the Bronx. The incident unfolded on West 42nd Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues, near the Port Authority Bus Terminal. Police arrived at the scene around 10:45 p.m. to find Reyes with a gunshot wound to the head. He was transported in critical condition to Bellevue, where he later died.
Authorities said they are searching for a man dressed in all black who was seen fleeing the area. No arrests had been made as of Thursday morning.
Both killings come at a time when overall homicides and shootings in New York City have dropped significantly. Through the end of May, the NYPD had reported historically low levels of gun violence across the five boroughs — a trend Mayor Eric Adams highlighted earlier this week.
The Chelsea shooting took place within the NYPD’s 10th Precinct, which had recorded no homicides in 2025 until Wednesday. In 2024, the precinct reported just one homicide over the entire year. The Midtown South Precinct, which includes Hell’s Kitchen, had logged two homicides and three shootings through June 1 last year, finishing 2024 with four killings in total.
Police have asked anyone with information about either incident to contact the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers hotline.
