21-year-old Brooklyn man shot and killed at Williamsburg auto shop, NYPD says

Police were investigating Wednesday after they said a 21-year-old man was shot and killed in broad daylight in front of an auto shop in Brooklyn.

NYPD officials said officers responded around 2:15 p.m. Tuesday to a 911 call about a person shot at Meserole Street and Union Avenue in Williamsburg, and found Cypress Hills resident Joharis Rivas unresponsive with a gunshot wound to his head. Rivas was taken to Elmhurst Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to officials.

Police had not announced any arrests by early Wednesday afternoon, but said they were looking for a man who was wearing black clothing at the time of the shooting and fled the scene on a scooter.

Family members who answered the door at Rivas’ listed address declined to speak with a reporter, other than to say he has three daughters and was at the auto shop to have his car repaired.

Gary Ruan, who owns a cafe across the street from the auto shop, said he and a customer heard a gunshot Tuesday afternoon before emergency responders showed up.

“At the time I didn’t think much of it,” Ruan said. “It was super unexpected, especially because it was in the middle of the day.”

NYPD data shows gun violence is relatively rare in the 90th Precinct, which encompasses most of Williamsburg. One person was shot and killed in the precinct last year, and no one was fatally shot there in 2023, according to Gothamist’s analysis of the data.

This story has been updated with additional information.