A Brooklyn livery driver was grazed in the face by a passenger who opened fire early Monday during a quarrel over the route the victim was taking, police said.
The 54-year-old victim, identified by the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers as Prince Ezenekwe, told police the gunman was a passenger who argued with him over the route.
As the clash escalated the passenger tried to rob Ezenekwe, then shot him near Flatlands Ave. and E. 101st St. in Canarsie, cops said.
“I have to kill you,” Ezenekwe quoted him saying, according to a police source, “and take what I want.”
After the shooter ran off, Ezenekwe made it on his own to Brookdale University Hospital, arriving about 1:25 a.m.
“The bullet missed a critical artery by less than an inch,” said federation Chairman Fernando Mateo. “Had it hit slightly differently he would not be alive today.”
Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News
Police were called to Brookdale University Hospital after the victim showed up. (Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News)
The suspect is described by cops as dark-skinned and 5-foot-5 and was dressed in black.
Mateo said Ezenekwe is from Nigeria and works to support his wife and five kids. The federation is offering a $5,000 reward for information that lead’s the gunman’s arrest and conviction.
