45-year-old Yan Zhiwen shot to death delivering food on scooter in Forest Hills, Queens
NEW YORK -- Yan Zhiwen, a food deliver worker, was shot and killed while on his scooter Saturday night in Queens.
It happened near 108th Street and 67th Drive in Forest Hills at around 9:30 p.m., hours after Mayor Eric Adams met with NYPD precinct commanders to address surging crime.
His final moments were captured on video before he was gunned down point blank in the middle of a residential street.
The 45-year-old food delivery worker is seen getting on his scooter and pulling out onto 108th Street when someone walks up to him and shoots him in the chest.
This is 45-year-old Yan Zhiwen, a hard working food delivery worker from Queens who was shot and killed at near point blank range Saturday evening. He worked at the Great Wall restaurant in Forest Hills for over a decade and leaves behind 3 children. @CBSNewYork pic.twitter.com/vIJ1nB5T1D
— Christina Fan (@Christinafantv) May 1, 2022
Yan's grieving widow, still shell-shocked and unable to process the loss, told CBS2's Christina Fan that by the time she got to the hospital, he was already gone.
"They told me, 'Your husband died.' I told them they are lying. My heart broke into pieces. I told him please stand up and come home with me," Kun Ying Zhao said.
Family members said Yan was the most doting and hardworking father to three children, the youngest just 2 years old. Every day for 14 years, he worked from dawn until dusk at the Great Wall restaurant in Queens. Recently, he also opened a laundromat with his wife to better provide for his kids.
"At first we all thought he had been robbed, but to find that he was murdered for no reason at all on the street, I can't understand," nephew Cheng Long Huang said.
Yan's killing came less than 24 hours after Mayor Adams held a rare weekend meeting with precinct commanders, demanding solutions to stem the rising tide of crime.
Starting Sunday, every borough is getting a violence reduction coordinator. But neighbors said they worry if the changes are happening fast enough.
When asked what is makes them wonder, one person said, "Who's around the neighborhood that would do something like that. What else might they do in the future if they don't find them."
Police are asking for help finding the shooter, who they say drove off in a light gray or tan Lexus eastbound on 67th Drive.