Mother of NYPD officer fatally shot answering door of Ozone Park home
The man accused of knocking on the door of a Queens home and fatally shooting the mother of an NYPD officer when she opened it is due in court Thursday.
Police said 41-year-old Giuseppe Canzani walked up to the 51-year-old victim’s home located on 109th Avenue in Ozone Park around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, knocked on the door, and fired three shots, striking the victim twice.
The victim, identified as Anna Torres, was pronounced dead at the scene.
In surveillance video obtained by reporters, school children can be seen running as the crack of gunfire echoed down 109th Avenue.
Seconds later, a man matching the police description of the gunman, who appeared to be holding a silver gun in his right hand, was captured casually walking from the home at the corner of 96th Street, before getting into the driver’s seat of a black Chevy Traverse.
About an hour after the shooting, Canzani drove to the 106th precinct, where he got out of his vehicle and placed a loaded firearm on the sidewalk. Two officers then took him into custody.
Police said the victim is the mother of an NYPD officer, but don’t believe the son’s affiliation with the department was tied to the shooting.
There were two other family members inside the victim’s home at the time of the shooting. Both remained at the scene.
Canzani was charged with second degree murder and criminal possession of a firearm.
A neighbor said he was “shocked” by the shooting and never imagined that something like this could happen on his block.
“This is unbelievable,” Alam Shofi said. “It’s so quiet and so nice. Everyone knows each other. I’ve been here almost 6 years. Never, nothing happened.”
He said he picked up his daughter around 2:30 p.m. and that’s when he saw all the police cars.
“It’s scary that our family lives here,” neighbor Patricia Tominelli said. “Our grandparents live next door you don’t know was it a home invasion or not you don’t know what it is.”
Neighbors said the family kept to themselves and had just moved into the corner house around three years ago.