Johnny Pizarro, a 31-year-old crew member on Law & Order: Organized Crime, was shot and killed early Tuesday morning in New York while filming the NBC show’s third season according to media reports.
Pizarro was reportedly sitting in his car in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn when an unknown suspect opened fire around 5:15 a.m. Pizarro was transported to Woodhull Hospital, where efforts to save him proved futile.
Pizarro was in Greenpoint early that morning handling set security and parking enforcement on Organized Crime. He was an employee of a private company that the production hired for such duties. Locals had complained about the rise of filming in the neighborhood (Blue Bloods and Dick Wolf‘s three FBI shows have also filmed in Greenpoint) and the subsequent lack of parking spaces, but it’s unclear whether those issues played a role in the shooter’s motive, or whether the suspect knew the victim. The police are currently investigating the tragic killing and the shooting suspect remains at large.
“We were terribly saddened and shocked to hear that one of our crew members was the victim of a crime early this morning and has died as a result,” read a joint statement from NBC and studio Universal Television, who also canceled production for the day. “We are working with local law enforcement as they continue to investigate. Our hearts go out to his family and friends and we ask that you respect their privacy during this time.”
“The safety of all New Yorkers is our top priority. No shooting is acceptable, which is why we are working every day to get illegal guns off New York City streets,” City Hall press secretary Fabien Levy said in a statement. “The NYPD is actively investigating the fatal shooting of a crew member of Law and Order: Organized Crime early this morning. We offer our deepest condolences to the victim’s family, friends, and coworkers during this difficult time, and will work diligently to bring the suspect to justice and stem the tide of gun violence we are seeing.”
According to Variety, Pizarro was raising six children in Ridgewood, Queens. His family will need support, so we’ll update this story if some kind of GoFundMe campaign materializes.
