Reputed gang member gunned down in East Village

BY THE VILLAGE SUN | An East Village man was fatally shot a block from his home last week.

According to police, officers responding to a 911 call on Thurs., Sept. 1, around 1:30 p.m., found Dillin Tolentino, 26, of 601 E. 12th St., unconscious and unresponsive with a gunshot wound to his head at Avenue C and E. 12th Street.

E.M.S. transported the victim to Bellevue Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

There are no arrests and the investigation is ongoing. A police spokesperson said she did not have further information about a possible gang angle to the slaying.

The New York Post, however, said the victim was an alleged Money Boy Gang member, who was paroled last year in connection with an attempted murder conviction. The tabloid said he was ambushed last Thursday by an attacker riding a Citi Bike.

“Somebody went up and just shot him,” said a witness who called 911, the Post reported. “There was an argument before…and one guy shot the one in the head. The perp was on the bicycle.”

According to the newspaper, “The gunman blasted the victim four times in the head as he walked out of an apartment building at Avenue C and East 12th Street that was across from an elementary school, according to cops and the sources.”

A local resident told The Village Sun, more specifically, that the shooting was in front of P.S. 34 and the Haven Plaza playground.

Also, as stated previously, police said the victim was shot in the head only once.

“Video reviewed by investigators shows that the gunman walked back and forth after he shot the victim, then kicked him multiple times in the head, sources said,” the Post reported.

Police said the gunman fled on foot. According to the Post, he dumped the Citi Bike at the scene.