Man indicted in Tompkins Square Park shootings

BY THE VILLAGE SUN | Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Monday announced the indictment of Waldemar Alverio, 38, for committing two shootings in Tompkins Square Park within five days, seriously injuring two people.

Alverio was indicted in New York State Supreme Court on three counts of attempted murder, two counts of assault, two counts of attempted assault and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon.

“As alleged, Waldemar Alverio shot two people in Tompkins Square Park last month and put numerous lives in danger,” Bragg said. “Our parks should be a place where New Yorkers and tourists can relax without fearing for their safety. Combatting gun violence remains my top priority and my office will hold those who commit these serious acts of violence accountable. I hope the victims continue to heal from their wounds.”

According to court documents and statements made on the record in court, on March 16, around 12:45 p.m., two men allegedly chased, punched and kicked Alverio in Tompkins Square Park before running away. As they ran off, Alverio unzipped his bag and pulled out a firearm, blasting five shots at them.

Alverio struck one of his foes in the buttocks, fracturing his pelvis and lodging a bullet in his hip. He also shot a bystander — a 53-year-old out-of-towner who was visiting her son — fracturing her right hip, which had to be surgically replaced. She will require months of physical therapy as she learns how to walk again, Bragg’s office said.

After unleashing a hail of bullets and wounding the two victims, Alverio fled the park at E. Ninth Street and Avenue A and rode his bicycle toward First Avenue.

Five days later, on March 21, Alverio allegedly returned to Tompkins Square Park at around 12:05 p.m., approached a group of individuals, and shot at them, again, five times. While Alverio did not strike any victims this time, one bullet smashed through a bedroom window of an apartment building across the street from the park — above Niagara bar — while another bullet pierced a window and lodged in a stairwell in a second building across from the park.

Alverio was arrested on the Lower East Side on March 26 by police officers who recognized him from a “wanted” flier.

D.A. Bragg thanked Detectives Christopher McNeely, Danielle Venuto and Officer Vladislav Abramov of the 9th Precinct Detective Squad and Detective Joseph Cohen of the Manhattan South Homicide Squad.