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Neighbors Mystified by SUV Shooting in Queens That Killed Driver, Critically Injured Passenger

What to Know

  • Two men were shot inside an SUV in the St. Albans section of Queens Sunday night ,police said, one of them fatally
  • The driver, 33-year-old Donald Francis, was pronounced dead at the scene; the 31-year-old passenger is in critical condition
  • Both victims have criminal histories but a motive in the shootings remains unclear; a suspect hasn't been identified

Police are investigating after two men were found shot in and around an Audi SUV in Queens Sunday night, one of them fatally.

The 33-year-old man in the driver's seat, Donald Francis, had gunshot wounds to the head and chest, and was pronounced dead at the scene, in the area of 114th Drive and 196th Street in St. Albans. An unidentified 31-year-old man, who police say had been sitting in the front passenger seat, was found collapsed behind the car with gunshot wounds to the chest and leg.

The unidentified victim was taken to Jamaica Hospital in critical but stable condition. 

No arrest has been made. 

Neighbors said they believe at least one of the men inside the car lived on the block. One resident, Tandi Singh, said police came by and gathered surveillance video from her house. The camera caught one of a couple different angles of the fatal shooting, which Singh described as a series of gunshots. 

"We just saw the car speed off, and there was a gentleman running on foot," she said. 

Calvin Melville also said, "We just heard some shots and the car drove off." 

Police said Francis and his passenger do have a criminal history, but a motive wasn't clear. The investigation is ongoing. 

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