A 31-year-old man was shot to death in SoHo by a group who jumped him in a robbery attempt early Tuesday, according to police and a law enforcement source with direct knowledge of the investigation.
The man may have been returning from a night out in Queens when he was attacked around 5:15 a.m. on Greene Street near Grand Street, the source said. It's not clear if he lived there.
Police have identified the victim as Javier Osorio-Mejia from Bayonne, NJ. Osorio-Mejia is a popular and established high-end sneaker reseller known as Upscale Cracc.
The suspects fled in a black car, according to our NBC New York source.
Osorio-Mejia was found on the street and was rushed to NYC Health and Hospitals/Bellevue, but was not able to be saved.
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Chopper 4 showed a still active scene hours after the shooting, with yellow caution tape cordoning off a cobblestone section of street as two NYPD officers stand watch.
Evidence markers for bullet casings could be seen on both sides of the street, placed near a white SUV with New Jersey license plates, its connection to the shooting unclear. A pair of green tennis shoes were left behind on the sidewalk.
No arrests have been made. An NYPD homicide investigation is now underway as police try to understand exactly what happened early Tuesday morning.
Upscale spoke with NBC New York's Ashley Chaparro in 2023 about his life and career.
Many tributes were posted to social media remembering Upscale Cracc.
Complex Sneakers posted, "Rest in peace to Upscale Cracc, born Javier Osorio-Mejia, a reseller who was a mainstay at sneaker releases in New York City for years. If there was a lineup happening, Cracc was there."
Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
